Meet the Destroyer of the World
by ShegoRulz
Summary: The year 2017 and the world is in ruins. It's Darquesse against the few survivors who are willing to fight for whatever cost - with Skulduggery Pleasant himself doing his best to save his Valkyrie Cain, while running the secret army. With so many dead and so few living, will anyone ever bring the Destroyer of the World to justice? Multiple pairings inside. Rated T/M
1. Prologue: How It Began

**I've had this idea for a while and eventually decided to try writing it up into a proper Skulduggery story. It'll probably have some M-rated chapters later on for violence and whatnot - just a warning. This is kind of an introduction to the story itself, just so you get an idea of what the world's become. Please read and review! **

**Summary: The year 2017 and the world is in ruins. It's Darquesse against the few survivors who are willing to fight for whatever cost - with Skulduggery Pleasant himself doing his best to save his Valkyrie Cain, while running the secret army. With so many dead and so few living, will anyone ever bring the Destroyer of the World to justice? Multiple pairings. Rated T - very dark and contains violence. **

**Pairings that'll pop up:**

**Fletcher/Myra**

**Fletchyrie**

**Valduggery(ish)**

**Tanguine**

**Ghanith**

**Thrashgrace **

**Chinduggery **

_**(Probably a lot more later on too)**_

Prologue - How It Began 

Two years ago. Two years and nine months ago on a Tuesday, to be exact. And as a matter of fact, that was always what the great Skulduggery Pleasant was - exact. Precise. Correct. In the realms of darkness, in a world which had long smouldered into being nothing but bleak, when he was no longer labelled a Sanctuary detective (in fairness, with no Sanctuary insight for two years and nine months, this was perfectly acceptable) and with no best friend or partner to talk to, keeping things in order could hardly be considered bad. Especially in the middle of the War, where he was constantly surrounded by idiots who never listened.

Darquesse had come, just like ever Sensitive had warned them; just like the sorcerers all over the world had had feared. The War consisted of the Destroyer of the World herself, with Tanith Low as her right-hand woman and a whole lot of slaves who had been forced into obeying Darquesse - by being possessed or otherwise. On the other side were any sorcerers who had managed to survive and were determined to fight against her. The leaders of the pack were Skulduggery, Ghastly and Erskine; there were many others too that had come crawling out of the woodwork, many of which Skulduggery loathed - such as Dr. Nye or Billy-Ray Sanguine, no less - but it wasn't exactly the time to be picky.

Every time Skulduggery had a rare, unfortunate opportunity to let his mind drift off, he was dragged back into the memory of his Valkyrie collapsing in his arms, tears streaming down her face from those chocolate brown eyes. Him shaking her, shaking her, demanding her to stay with him.

"…Just until I get you to Dr. Nye." Skulduggery forced himself to keep his voice steady. "Stay awake, do you hear me? You'll be fine."

Her shaking hands gripped forcefully onto his suit. "Help my family, Skulduggery. My parents…Alice…you can't let me…She's coming…"

"Not yet. It's not her time."

She managed a brittle laugh. "I don't think Darquesse is overly bothered. She's been waiting too long."

"She has no reason to come out now. No reason at all. We can fix this if you - Valkyrie, _look at me!" _

His partner's eyes had rolled into the back of her head and her body had stiffened considerably. Even though he knew, deep down, that this was it, that Darquesse was emerging for good, he still shouted and pleaded with the lifeless body in his arms.

He considered acting on getting Dr. Nye regardless, but at the last moment decided against it; for now, this was just him and Valkyrie and it would most likely be the last time he'd get to see her this way. So he slumped onto the floor, holding her in his arms, feeling the minutes helplessly trickle past him as he stroked her long, brown hair. Only when he felt the arm of the girl twitch did he react, briskly standing up and striding towards the Sanctuary doors, out into the open, where he began to fly, holding her in his arms. As the body began to spasm uncontrollably he descended into a field, far away from the city and Sanctuary.

He set her down softly, stroked a hand through her hair, before turning and leaving behind the girl he knew as Valkyrie. There was no way he was letting any one take her away. She'd be imprisoned, tortured, killed - so if she _did _attempt to destroy the world, so be it. He'd fight back. But as long as Darquesse had the face of Valkyrie Cain, he would never let her die. Even if he lived to regret it, he would _never _let her die.

…

Ghastly was approaching him. Skulduggery abruptly shook himself out of his reverie as he stood, drawing out his revolver.

"News?" He asked immediately, to receive a weary shrug from his friend.

"Not much to report, Skulduggery. Darquesse is lying low."

"So nothing else on Tanith, either?"

Ghastly's jaw clenched as he laboriously shook his head. "No."

Skulduggery nodded stiffly, turning away as he glanced over the wasted horizon. They had built a large barricade to section and shelter them away from any more attacks, but a little to the left was a small gap which allowed people to see what was coming. "Well," He eventually sighed, "this means we've got a big fight on our hands soon - again."

"One day we'll get them." Ghastly promised, "we'll get both of them back. Dr. Nye's working on a new mixture for the removal of the Remnant. It's taken him years to get it right, but it's nearly ready."

Skulduggery made a non-committal grunt, deciding not to spoil his friend's delusional fantasies.

"I mean," Ghastly continued with a smile, "Tanith left Sanguine. Part of her must still be in there, otherwise -"

"She left Sanguine because Darquesse emerged, and that's the only person she cares about." Skulduggery interrupted abruptly and the smile dropped from Ghastly's face as he gave a heavy sigh.

"I know. I know. But at least he's miserable now too."

"There is that." Skulduggery agreed as a flicker of a smile returned to Ghastly's scarred face. "As a matter fact, I need him to do a job. Burrow out to find some more weapons. I had a feeling you'd enjoy giving him the task."

Ghastly's scowled. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you can put this on him to make sure he doesn't try to escape." Skulduggery handed him a small black disk - the pain receptor.

Ghastly looked at it for a moment, then nodded with a barely suppressed smirk as he pocketed it. "You spoil me, old friend."

"I know."

They saluted each other and Ghastly gave a parting nod before walking away and leaving the former Skeleton Detective to gaze through the gap across the wasteland once more.

"Oh, Valkyrie." He murmured aloud, "You daft girl. Where are you?" He took a deep breath, before adding in the softest whisper. "I miss you."


	2. A Worker's Day

**Thank you so much to all the reviews and favourites, guys! They're all so nice and positive, which is always a good thing! :-D**

**This chapter mainly features on Sanguine, Clarabelle and Thrasher, but there are a few important things to pick up on for the following chapters, as well as a surprising arrival at the end…Ooh…**

Dr. Nye had never been a creature for conflict. No, it much preferred hiding in the background being left well and truly alone to do his job - fix people up, willing or otherwise. But now it was here, and so was its crazy blue-haired assistant who _still _insisted on singing while she worked and was constantly getting on its nerves.

Mind you, recently Clarabelle hadn't been as cheerful as she once was. Instead, her eyes were getting that doubtful, apprehensive look on them whenever another severely injured patient was brought in to their shoddily built medical bay. She'd quieten down and work on whatever she was doing, occasionally getting her visits from her odd friends. Today was no exception.

"How's my favourite l'il lady doin'?"

Dr. Nye bristled in annoyance at the lazy Texan drawl, as Clarabelle turned around with a beam.

"Billy-Ray!" She squealed a little as she launched herself at him, "I haven't seen you for days and days!"

"What can I say, been busy. Got myself a job to do right now." He lowered his voice and gestured for her to follow him outside before glancing back at Dr. Nye. "Mind if I take your assistant out somewhere real quick?"

Clarabelle looked at the Doctor with her big blue eyes hopefully, practically bouncing up and down. The girl was enraptured with the man; the two had formed a strange yet strong friendship when they had been flung together in this War and she'd even helped him and the idiot Scapegrace get along slightly better. Clarabelle obviously felt extremely sorry for the Texan, what with his possessed partner leaving him to serve Darquesse, no less, and had been the only one to attempt to cheer him up since the incident. She was _still _trying, even after all these years, and he was still not the same.

It growled slightly in irritation, before giving an abrupt nod of its head. "Five minutes at the most. We're extremely busy, Mr. Sanguine."

"Gotcha." He saluted patronisingly, before gripping onto Clarabelle's wrist and leading her from the Medical Bay to the barricaded outdoors. The day was cold and the wind stung Clarabelle's face as she suppressed the urge to shiver. What month was it now? November? She honestly had no idea. She looked up at Billy-Ray and smiled. He was almost as handsome as Gerald, if not more so.

"So, what's your job?" She asked interestedly, "Will you be going outside?"

"Out into the Great Unknown." He drawled, taking off his sunglasses to wipe them, knowing that she wouldn't flinch away from the small holes which should have held his eyes. In fact, she encouraged him to constantly keep his glasses off. Yeah; she was undoubtedly crazy. "Weapon huntin' for the scarred fella."

"Ghastly." She amended, "That's so exciting! I haven't left this barricade for…Oh gosh…" She wrinkled her nose in concentration with a frown, before glancing back at him. "Months, I suppose. A year? I miss the rest of the world. Will you tell me what it's like?"

"It's mostly sand and rubble, doll. But if ya want, I'll bring ya back a twig or whatever."

She beamed, taking him seriously. "That's so nice of you, Billy-Ray. Thank you!"

He would've laughed, but he hadn't done that in a long time. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do. But I gotta favour to ask first."

She blinked up at him before giving another of her cute, innocent smiles. "Sure! What is it?"

"I gotta mighty fine disk on me." He opened part of his shirt to show her a solid black object that was seemingly attached to the top part of his chest, near his collarbone. "An' I want it off before I burrow anywhere. Ya know what the scarred freak's like - he'd zap me for the hell o' it."

Clarabelle glanced at it, biting her lip doubtfully. "I don't know what to do with it…I've never seen it before. The Doctor might -"

"Nope." He grabbed onto her arm as she turned away. "We ain't involving him in this, 'cause he's about as trustworthy as Darquesse herself. Just try an' peel it off. It don't work when I try, but it might for you."

Clarabelle fidgeted, before hesitantly reaching out to touch it in an effort to get it off. "Nope. Sorry, that's there to stay. But I can do you another favour, if you want."

He sighed, buttoning up his shirt again. "Naw, darlin', I'm good."

"No, no, wait!" She held up her hands, as if that would physically stop him from moving, "I'm knitting scarves and things, so I'll make you one of those for when you get back! I'll even do it in green for you." She added importantly, as if green was one of those colours that everyone desired and needed.

"Well." He hesitated for a moment, then decided not to spoil her enthusiasm. "Sure, that'd be great, doll. Thanks. Knittin', huh?"

"Stitching everyday keeps the boredom away!" She chimed, spinning around before giving him a smile. "Good luck, Billy-Ray, you'll be super-fantastic!"

He flinched at the words that reminded him so much of Tanith, but Clarabelle didn't notice as she proceeded to hurry back into the Medical Bay. She ducked her head out at the last minute and added. "Oh, before you go, can you tell Gerald to come to here at around ten, because that's when Dr. Nye goes to sleep. You know, after we accidentally woke it up last time and it whacked poor Gerald around the head, and Scapey nearly died laughing, if that's even possible, which I'm sure it is somewhere…" She took a deep breath before ploughing on, "So tell him _ten. _And make sure Scapey doesn't come, because were having an important, private discussion."

"Oh yeah?" He wasn't particularly interested in the affairs of any one else here, but he felt he had to ask.

"Yep. About boys and our jobs and the future. And Scapey would only be pessimistic. No offence to him! Make sure you tell him no offence, because I love him like I love rainbows."

Sanguine caught her before she made him zone out completely. "Ok, yeah, fine. I'll tell 'em before I go."

"You're the best!" She beamed, before finally vanishing back into the Medical Bay where Dr. Nye would most likely grill her for being well over five minutes.

Sanguine shook his head with a sigh, before turning around to glance at the secluded barricaded area, which - as it was noon - was busy with people practising weaponry or doing their designated jobs. Gerald was usually put on hauling heavy items such as metal around so they could be used for something useful, as he had the muscles for it and everything, what with his new body and all. And Scapegrace…well, he'd been given a new male body a few years ago, after a lot of yelling and threatening, and by some laughable feat had been recruited into the actual army. He was something of a looker now and Christ, he knew it.

As Sanguine's boots strode over the hard ground, he caught snippets of conversation from miserable looking folk who were convinced what they were doing was for nothing; he saw the skeleton issuing commands to that Ravel guy, who both looked a little agitated; he walked by the cells which held the Most Beautiful Lady on Earth, China Sorrows herself - not so hot anymore, now she was serving her time for the murder of the skeleton's family - and eventually let his mind drift to, of course, Tanith Low. He could hardly help himself and it irritated him, constantly wondering and worrying about her whereabouts.

When he finally reached the worker's on the far left, they were chopping a whole load of wood, which Sanguine honestly couldn't find helpful at all. He strolled up to where Gerald was and drawled, "This surely ain't worthy of your talents."

The man looked up and shrugged, wiping his brow as he managed a smile. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking." His arm muscles flexed as he lowered his axe and he brushed his dark hair away from his face. "Is there a problem?"

"You need to meet Clarabelle at ten. And Scapegrace ain't allowed to go, apparently. But no offence."

"Ok." Gerald nodded, glancing towards his superior a little nervously, who was issuing commands to everyone he deemed wasn't working to his standards. "Well. Thanks. Any news on Tanith?"

Sanguine had been turning to go, but he roughly snapped his head back, his jaw clenched. "No."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I was just…Sorry."

"Naw." He shook his head bitterly. "You were just askin'. But make sure you don't ask again."

Gerald nodded quickly. "Sure. She'll be around, you know. She'll probably show up with Darquesse at some point -"

"Didn't I tell ya to stop talkin' about it?" He yelled, and this time the ex-zombie's superior stormed over to them both. Gerald groaned, dropping his head as the man neared. He was a lot taller than the both of them and looked a little deranged.

"Get back to work, you idiot." The man snapped forcefully and it was the first time Sanguine noticed that Gerald's boss had a whip on his belt. Aw, hell, what was this? A slave camp?

"My fault." Sanguine spoke up, raising his hand. "I distracted him. Won't happen again."

"Make sure it doesn't. Get out of here." The man spat at Gerald's feet before storming away again and Gerald let out a sigh of relief, turning back to him with a gratified look.

"You didn't have to do that."

Sanguine shrugged. "Sure I did, or your l'il friend Scapegrace woulda decked me."

Gerald smiled slightly, then gestured for him to go. "You'd better be off, then."

"That guy whip you often?" Sanguine couldn't help but ask, even though he really wasn't sure why it was his business. Perhaps he was going soft.

Gerald frowned, scratching the back of his head. "Sometimes. Yeah. Don't tell Scapegrace. You know how weird he gets about everything nowadays. It's not too bad, once you're used to it. And Clarabelle helps me out. Now can you please go away before he comes back?"

Sanguine nodded and was about to depart when a popping noise sounded and everyone around the barricade hushed. The two men turned instantly, to be met with the sight of a young, muscled man with ridiculous hair, clutching onto the hand of a fragile-looking woman who looked like she hadn't slept for years.

Skulduggery Pleasant pushed through the gathering of people who were moving towards the two newcomers, and when he spoke it was with a mixture of distrust and disbelief.

"Fletcher?"

**A/N: We'll be finding out more on China and how she was captured over the next few chapters, don't worry! And for the record, even though Thrasher's hair is meant to be sandy-coloured, I picture him with dark hair, which really isn't interesting to you guys at all, but…you know…Oh, and Scapegrace is male again in this. Please review! ****J **


	3. Darkness Across the Land

**Ok, this chapter is a lot longer, which explains the small delay in updates (: **

**It's also very dark (no pun intended, haha…Yeah, you'll need to read on for that to make sense, sorry) and contains bad language. I have to say, most of the chapters will, so sorry if that offends anyone.**

**PLEASE REVIEW GUYS! PLEASE tell me what you think of this chapter, as I'm a little unsure of it. (: **

Fletcher Renn sat in a shoddily built room made of metal and various other scraps, Myra clutching onto his hands next to him, unnaturally quiet, as usual.

"So," Skulduggery spoke up, a hard edge to his voice as he paced up and down. Across the table which the couple were sitting at was Erskine Ravel, who was studying them intently. "where've you been for these last two years, Fletcher?"

"Here and there." Fletcher's voice was soft as he tapped his foot repetitively. "We could never stay in the same place for too long. Val - I mean…Darquesse and her followers were spreading, seemingly wherever I went. Myra's parents were killed by them."

At this, Myra's face crumpled and she withdrew her hands, roughly pressing them to her face as her shoulder shook. Fletcher placed a hand on her knee comfortingly before continuing with a heavy sigh. "I knew there were people who were starting a few uprisings, but I wasn't sure what to do or where to go. Then I heard of you," He rose his eyes to meet Skulduggery's empty eye sockets with a hesitant smile. "And your secret force based here. And I knew I needed to be part of it."

Erskine nodded laboriously. "There'll be use for you, Renn. A lot of use."

"Then I'm prepared to join at whatever cost." Fletcher had to speak over Myra, who had started to sob. "But you'll have to do me a favour and look after Myra."

Skulduggery folded his arms over his tattered, mud-splattered suit. "We don't baby-sit in Wars, boy."

"Not like that." Fletcher amended quickly. "It's just…A medical room or - or whatever. She's ill, Skulduggery. Depressed. She doesn't talk -"

"I'm _not _ill!" Myra's head shot up, her eyes red and tear-tracks on her dust smeared cheeks. "You c-c-can't send me away to join an _army_! I need you!"

"I'm not leaving you," Fletcher explained patiently, taking her by the shoulders to make her look at him. "Myra, listen to me. You can rest up and not need to worry while I put in some help around here. You'll be absolutely fine."

Erskine glanced at Skulduggery. "We could put in a word with Dr. Nye."

"Ravel, Dr. Nye won't keep a permanent reserved bed for Myra here. There's no chance at all."

"It might if Clarabelle persuades him." Erskine pointed out and at this Fletcher smiled - his first proper smile in months.

"Clarabelle? She's here? She's alive?"

"She is. And so are many others we thought dead, unfortunately." Skulduggery murmured. "But it would be best to ignore them."

"Then please - please ask Clarabelle. I'll do anything, as long as I know Myra's somewhere reasonably safe and that she's cared for -"

They were all interrupted by several screams from outside and Skulduggery was the first out, revolver in hand, only to find himself plunged in darkness. The Skeleton Detective heard Myra begin her crying again and Fletcher's futile attempts to calm her down.

Skulduggery summoned a flame in his palm and let it grow as he tried to find out what in hell was going on. "Ghastly?" He shouted, hearing Erskine stumble about until he reached him. "Ghastly, are you there?"

Various other Elementals were beginning to conjure fire too, and in the dim glow of light, Skulduggery saw the army with their rifles aiming at something - someone - in the sky. A painfully familiar someone.

"Stand down!" He roared, approaching the army, "Stand down, do you hear me? NOW!"

He reached them and grabbed at Vaurien Scapegrace's gun. "Put that down!"

Scapegrace shook his head firmly. "I don't take orders from you."

"You'll take orders from anyone, do you understand me? And I'm telling you to put that down!"

Scapegrace's jaw was clenched as his head turned. "Pleasant, that's not who you think it is, alright? And I've been told to go through the standard procedure."

"Well, then," Skulduggery growled. "I'll pop over there and gun down your friend, then we'll see who's going through what damn procedure. Put your gun down."

Scapegrace's eyes had widened slightly as he breathed out, "Do _not _hurt someone who's never done anything wrong in his life. This is the fucking Destroyer of the World, not Cain!" Even he looked a little surprised at his outburst, but pressed on furiously, "Don't threaten Thrasher again. Now get out of my face, Skeleton."

"_Hello, friends!" _

There were a mixture of screams and rambling and prayers from everyone around the barricade and Skulduggery felt himself physically weaken as he stared up at Darquesse. Scapegrace's hands were shaking but he still didn't lower his gun, a determined look on his face.

A smile flitted across Darquesse's pale face as she simply hovered in the air amidst the darkness, her arms outstretched. "Now, now," She scolded, "don't look so worried, everyone! I'm just here to say hello!"

Skulduggery unsteadily walked forwards, the fire still in his open palm as he solely focused on the young woman in the sky. "Is Valkyrie Cain in there?" He shouted up, "Her old partner wants to say hello too."

Darquesse looked down on him and gave another smile. "Oh, Skulduggery. You just don't know when to give up, do you?"

"Of course not. Where've you been hiding? We haven't had the pleasure in quite a while."

Darquesse shrugged lightly. "Here and there. You see, I heard you had a dear old friend of Valkyrie's down there, so I thought I should reacquaint us. Hello, Fletcher!" Fire was summoned in Darquesse's hands as she laughed. "And how is your poor, damaged Myra?"

Fletcher made to move forward angrily, but Erskine roughly shoved him back, muttering at him to get out of the way.

Skulduggery turned his head to stare warningly at the army, who still hasn't lowered their damned guns. He wasn't scared of them killing her - far from it, actually. He was scared of what would happen when they tried. Surely they knew Darquesse couldn't be defeated that easily? Or perhaps they were getting desperate. All the same, it would only end in yet another disaster.

"I can see you all down there," Darquesse said, a smile in her voice, "even in the darkness, I can see you. I can see the fear on each and every one of your little faces. But remember; where you are, there's nowhere to run. You people created your own cell. So if I were to kill you, it would really be your own fault, wouldn't it? Do you see where I'm coming from?"

"Quite frankly," Skulduggery spoke up, "No."

"Where's Tanith?" Ghastly's voice entered, from somewhere over on the right side. "I'd like to see what she has to say about you visiting us."

Darquesse's laugh rang out through the darkness and in the dim, eerie glow, she wiped tears from her eyes. "Oh, _Elder _Bespoke, really! Tanith's a remnant. She does whatever I tell her to, and I'm sure she'd find your death highly amusing if you're one of the first of this little group to go. You should've have moved on by now."

Ghastly's voice was quiet, and although Skulduggery couldn't see him, he could picture the look of determination on his friend's face. "Never."

"Well, at least the _Texan's _rightfully given up. I haven't heard a word from him down there and I can't see him, either. Did you manage to kill him, Elder Bespoke?"

"It's none of your business, nor Tanith's, what we've done with him." Skulduggery said firmly, "so you can run back to wherever you're hiding and tell her that both the men she left have nothing more to say."

"I'm sure she'd be fascinated to hear that, Skulduggery. Now, if you don't mind, it truly was a _joy _to catch up, but I'll be off. Consider yourselves safe - for today, at least." She brought her arms down to fly away, but there was a roar of _"Fire!" _from the army as the sound of gunshots and the smell of smoke filled the air.

Darquesse roared, sweeping her hands outwards, enclosing herself in a bubble so no bullets penetrated her skin. With a murderous look on her face, she pushed her hands forward and -

Skulduggery was blasted backwards. The world spun over his head in a matter of seconds as he crashed back painfully onto the ground. There were screams. There was fire. Fire everywhere, burning across the ground. People flung out, limbs in unnatural positions. Blood. He lifted his head, the world going in and out of focus. He was pretty sure some of his ribs were broken due to the grinding pain in his side as he shakily clambered back onto his feet.

"Erskine…" The pain made it difficult to talk. He was wheezing as he tried again, "Erskine, Ghastly…We need to -"

It was too overwhelming to concentrate; crying and screams penetrated through the darkness as he forced himself to stumble back towards the hut where their important meetings were held. A weak flame was summoned in his hand to blearily navigate him, only to die out in a matter of seconds.

He found Fletcher on the ground, one arm protectively around his girlfriend, Myra. Both unconscious and bleeding, but breathing. There were others, sorcerers he didn't know all too well, who hadn't made it. He passed the body of a young woman who he vaguely recalled as a Child of the Spider, who's neck was twisted and her eyes wide open.

Skulduggery eventually reached the hut, which had seemed like a thousand miles away and staggered inside, lighting each candle with several more flames he summoned through gritted teeth. He had no way of bringing in or helping any of the injured. His best hope was to make people know he was in here so with any luck Erskine and Ghastly would find him and they could reorganise themselves. In the meantime, he just had to hope Dr. Nye and Clarabelle at least had started to go out to care for the grievously injured.

"Valkyrie…" He moaned, slumping into a chair, cradling his broken ribs, "You've got to be in there somewhere, girl. And you've got to get the hell out…Before…it's too late…"

XxX

"Gerald -" Clarabelle tried to shove her way through the masses of people in search for her friend in this bewildering darkness. The roaring fire that had come with the explosion was being distinguished by any Elementals who were strong enough to manipulate water, so it wasn't bright enough to navigate around decently. Darkness was the one thing her and her friend of them were terrified of, for various reasons between the two of them. "Gerald?" She stumbled over a body on the ground and landed hard on the ground, muffling a small cry of a pain.

Hands grabbed her by the shoulder, picking her up and dusting her down and she tried to squirm away out of instinct. "You alright?" Vaurien Scapegrace asked her and she breathed out in relief.

"Vaurien…What's going on…?" She wheezed out, clutching her chest. "It's dark…Gerald'll be so scared…"

"Yeah, that's why I was trying to find the two of you. Come on." He grabbed onto her arm and led her through the hysterical crowd as he continued, "We tried firing at Darquesse but then…you know, the explosion. Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm fine." She admitted shakily, "I was in the Medical Bay when it happened and that's the most protected place. Are _you _ok?"

"It hurts a little."

With her free arm she reached out to touch his face and he flinched violently. "Vaurien!" She exclaimed, a little hysterically at the feeling of warm stickiness, "It's like you've got a river of blood coming down from your _head! _You need to lie down or - or you'll _fall _down!"

"I will in a bit." He managed to say and she noticed how heavily he was breathing. "When we find him…Promise."

"He was working." She recalled faintly. "Over…there, I think? How are we meant to find anyone when it's so _dark?" _Her voice was rising and she struggled to keep it under control with difficulty.

"Clarabelle, can you do me a favour? Be quiet and hold me up." Vaurien placed his arm around her shoulders, his legs physically buckling. "Or drag me, or something. I'm going to collapse."

Clarabelle hastily pulled him back up as he slumped. "I'll get you a dressing for your head. We need to go back to the Medical -" Her foot connected with yet another body and they both went sprawling.

"CLARABELLE!"

"Sorry, sorry!" She scrambled to a sitting position, helping him lean against her shoulder. "Who did I fall over? Sorry." She nervously groped around the air in hope of finding the poor person, her hand connecting with someone's leg. She shook it a little. "Hello? My name's Clarabelle. Sorry for tripping over you."

"That's alright." Gerald mumbled, trying to push himself up from the ground with trembling arms. "You're forgiven."

"Gerald!" She yelped a little, relieved beyond belief. "Oh, thank God! We were looking for you, because it's so dark and horrible and -"

"I know. I panicked. I think my ankle's broken. I landed against a rock when I got blast back and it fucking _hurts -_"

"Gerald! Can we have less of the _swearing, _please?" Clarabelle scolded. She still wasn't quite used to her friend speaking his mind quite so often and whenever he said something that would've been seen outrageous when he was a zombie, it still made her jump.

"Right, sorry." He breathed out heavily, "Sorry. It hurts a _lot. _And I just had to drag myself somewhere out of the way and…Is Scapegrace there?"

"Hi." Vaurien slurred. "…Thought you'd be dead by now."

"Sorry. Still here."

"S'ok." Scapegrace's head drooped and Clarabelle could feel the sticky blood drenching her shoulder. "That's fine…"

Gerald nudged Clarabelle, and she could hear the frown in his voice, "What's wrong with him?"

"Head injury." She whispered back. "He should be ok, but he's losing a bit of blood. He'll need stitches."

"This isn't good." Gerald murmured, nudging her again, "And you? Are you alright?"

"I think so. I'm not that hurt, but I did hit a table."

"I'm sure it deserved it." Scapegrace spoke again, his voice getting fainter with ever word.

"Don't talk, Scapey. You need enough strength to get up again. I need to take you both to Dr. Nye." Something jolted inside Clarabelle and she gripped onto Gerald's arm. "Where's Billy? Did he leave for the weapons?"

"Yeah." Gerald reassured her, "He left a while ago. He came over to pass on your message."

She breathed out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes. "Oh, good. Well, I suppose it doesn't matter now." Her breath hitched in her throat as she continued, "I don't like seeing Darquesse with the face of Valkyrie. I know you hated her anyway, Scapey, but it's so awful for people who knew her. And seeing her do this to us, when we were meant to be her friends, it just…"

"Darquesse and Valkyrie are two separate girls." Gerald explained patiently, "and Darquesse doesn't know you like Valkyrie knew you. You just have to get used to the fact that Darquesse will always have Valkyrie's body. I'm not saying that's easy because, you know, it creeps me out too, but you'll just have to start seeing her in a whole new way."

Clarabelle nodded slowly and furiously wiped at her eyes. "Thank you, Gerald."

She could hear the pleased note in his voice. "I said something right?"

"You always say the right things." She giggled back, and felt the dull ache begin to spread through her shoulder from where she'd collided with the table. "Let's…Let's get up. I'll take you to Dr. Nye and - and soon we'll get light again." She shook Scapegrace, who had gone unsettlingly quiet. "Vaurien, we need to go. C'mon." She shook him again and a low moan escaped from her, half from pain and half from her emotions threatening to go into overload. "Come on!"

"Wh…" He groaned, slumping forwards, "Yeah…fine…"

Clarabelle knew what she had to do, and she didn't like it one little bit. "Gerald, I'm going to have to leave you two and get the doctor myself. The both of you can't walk at _all._ I'm sorry, but there's honestly nothing else -"

"It's ok." He sounded nervous, but continued, "It makes sense. Just be careful and…you know, come back."

She kissed him on the cheek and even though it was so dark that she couldn't see him, and even though he was openly gay, the girly part of her wanted to giggle, as she quite honestly had never seen anyone as handsome as her friend in her life. She staggered back up to her feet and proceeded to find her way back to the Medical Bay. The stinging of tears in her eyes didn't help her, and neither did the bodies on the ground, but she forced herself to walk onwards. She'd become quite good at forgetting the horrible world around her. In fact, she was something of an expert.

XxX

Darquesse sat. Energy flowing. Magic pulsating. Her head turned to Tanith Low, who was dutifully sat next to her not saying a word. The black lips and veins of the Remnant within were openly displayed, highlighting the paleness of the pretty blonde woman's face.

"I didn't kill them all." Darquesse spoke, staring fixatedly at the wall in front of her, "Not your precious Sanguine or Ghastly."

Tanith shrugged lightly, "I never mentioned either of them, my Saviour. Who you kill and what you do is none of my business. How many are dead in there, then?"

"Ten, give or take. I can feel it." She gestured at her body and gave a contented sigh. "But there'll be more soon. Of course there will. I just need to wait for the right time." Darquesse glanced through the open window at the world. _Her _world. A thing of pure destruction and beauty.

"And I have a feeling that time will be soon."

**A/N: I hope you liked. Please review! (: **


	4. I Waited For You

**Oh my goodness, thank you so much to all my fabulous reviewers. You guys are amazing and so kind! I'm really happy you're enjoying this story. Don't forget to drop a review! **

**~Shego~ x**

In the darkness, the people waited.

The two former zombies had collapsed against each other, the pain from both of their injuries overpowering their resolve, as they had slipped into unconsciousness.

They'd been brought back to the Medical Bay, along with several others, and they still hadn't woken up. Clarabelle sat by their beds, murmuring to the bodies in hope that they could somehow hear her, stitching Scapegrace's head injury carefully in the dim glow of candlelight.

Fletcher had come to and was clasping tightly onto Myra's hand as she slept peacefully in her own bed in the far corner of the building. Dr. Nye had, by some miracle, agreed to keep her there for the time being until she began to recover from her depression. Fletcher kissed his girlfriend's hand and glanced over at the bed next to Myra's, where Dr. Nye was operating on Erskine Ravel. A piece of wood had impaled his stomach when he'd fallen and it didn't look pretty.

The door to the Bay creaked open and in the hazy light Fletcher made out the broad figure of Ghastly Bespoke and, close behind him, Skulduggery's bony frame. He slowly stood up, letting go of Myra's hand and walked towards them. Clarabelle glanced up from her work anxiously, bandaged the rest of her friend's head and silently joined Fletcher's side with a weak smile.

"Hello," Ghastly spoke in a whisper, "how's everyone holding up in here?"

"Erskine should make a fast recovery." Clarabelle replied, "I think I'll make him one of my scarves as a congratulations when he's back up and about. How…how is it out there?"

Skulduggery spoke up in a quiet voice. "You mean how many are dead?"

Clarabelle faltered and dropped her head. "…Yes."

"So far we've seen around eight dead bodies. No one we knew all too well, but lives lost all the same. All because of that bloody reckless army. I need a word with Dexter and Scapegrace."

Fletcher frowned. "That's an unlikely couple."

"Dexter is meant to be the Commander. Which means he gave the order to shoot. Scapegrace, by some insane and laughable feat, helps him make decisions."

"He has redeemed himself and works hard." Ghastly murmured. Clarabelle looked at him gratefully.

"He really loves the job, Ghastly. He always does his best."

"I know, Clarabelle. I know."

"And he's actually hurt right now, so…so he can't talk to you, Skulduggery." Clarabelle shifted awkwardly, folding her arms. "Maybe when he wakes up -"

"I'm talking to him _now_, not later. Ghastly, see if you can find Dexter. Fletcher, I want you to go with him. Consider yourself part of the army."

Fletcher glanced up, surprise evident on his face. "You - honestly? You're actually letting me join?"

Skulduggery nodded. "I am. Now prove to me you can be worthwhile and go."

Fletcher grinned and, much to Skulduggery and Ghastly's amusement, saluted. "I won't let you down. I promise." He turned to Clarabelle with an eager smile. "Can you tell me when Myra wakes up?"

"Sure." The blue haired young woman smiled back, though she looked so tired, so fragile. Fletcher didn't see, which was probably fortunate. "Of course I will."

"You're the best. Thanks." Fletcher hurried away with Ghastly without so much as a backward glance. Clarabelle's shoulders rose and fell in a heavy sigh and Skulduggery looked at her with his eye sockets.

"You need to sleep."

"Sorry? Oh, no." She giggled. "I'm fine. I'm just a little worried about - never mind. I'm fine. Sorry, Skulduggery, but I have patients to look after."

"Of course. You get back to them. I'll just go and talk to Scapegrace."

"Skulduggery, please -"

The Skeleton Detective purposefully strode by her to Scapegrace's bed and observed him coldly for a while, then whacked him around the head. He awoke with a strangled yelp and Clarabelle's hands flew to her mouth. "S-Skulduggery, no! What are you doing? Stop!"

Skulduggery gripped onto Scapegrace's shirt and growled furiously. "I warned you not to shoot. And you, you god damn idiot, ignored me. Now take a look. Take a look around you and see the damage you've done."

"Get…" Scapegrace panted, "get off…get off of me…"

"Please, Skulduggery, leave him!" Clarabelle tried to grab his arm, but she was roughly shaken off.

"You are partly responsible for the deaths of eight people." Skulduggery shook him angrily. "And your little friend lying next to you could have been one of them. In fact, it's a damn shame he wasn't."

Scapegrace struggled to break free from Skulduggery's grasp and managed to gasp out, "Your Cain bitch killed those people, not me."

All he got for his efforts was an almighty punch in the face and his head snapped back, his eyelids already sliding shut as he slipped into unconsciousness yet again. Clarabelle whimpered softly and on the bed next to Scapegrace, Gerald stirred in his sleep and murmured something incoherent.

"Oh, Skulduggery…" Clarabelle whispered, "Oh, God, Skulduggery."

The said skeleton's head was bowed and he sighed heavily. Then he lifted his head and his voice was calm and serene. "Terribly sorry if I intruded on your work. Do carry on."

Clarabelle staggered away as he turned and left the Medical Bay, before collapsing in a sitting position on Scapegrace's bed, gripping onto his hand. "I'm so sorry, Scapey. I…I should've…" She wiped away tears that were already falling from her tired blue eyes.

The door leading to another section of the Bay opened and Dr. Nye stooped through, slowly uncurling itself as it looked at its assistant. "I heard a sound of disturbance." It spoke smoothly, "and I would prefer it if it didn't happen again. Back to work."

She hastily stood up and nodded vigorously. "I'm sorry, Dr. Nye. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to assist me on an operation. This way."

Clarabelle struggled to hide a grimace. She detested it when the Doctor dissected patients - most of the time he gushed about the beauty of body parts or about trying to find the soul. Still; a job was a job and she wasn't one to complain. At least her boss didn't whip her, like Gerald's did.

She straightened her lab coat and gave a hesitant smile as she followed the unnaturally tall figure into the private section. On the operating table lay the young man Hansard Kray, though his face was torn and slashed almost beyond recognition. There was a bone protruding from his bloody leg and Clarabelle had to turn her head away and breath heavily for a few moments with her eyes close.

"Scalpel." Came Dr. Nye's high-pitched voice and she gritted her teeth to compose herself as she passed him the correct equipment, keeping her eyes fixed on her dirt-smeared shoes. "Was I mistaken, or did I indeed hear the voice of Skulduggery Pleasant shouting?" Nye asked from behind his medical mouthpiece.

Clarabelle nodded miserably. "He was here. He's…He's very angry."

"He always has been angry. He is a dark, twisted being indeed. It makes one wonder…" Nye's voice dropped and Clarabelle looked at it, her face intrigued and open. "…just how far he would go to be with his old protégée - whether as Darquesse or otherwise."

"He wouldn't abandon us." Clarabelle's voice was barely above a whisper. "Would he?"

Dr. Nye's shrugged. "I am merely speculating. Pass me the glass bottle of purple liquid over there."

Clarabelle turned to do so, a mixture of fear and panic on her face. The idea of Skulduggery Pleasant leaving them all was too terrifying and yet all too believable. Sometimes he'd have such awful outbursts. Sometimes he was even worse than Darquesse herself.

XxX

Billy-Ray Sanguine sat in the dark, a sack of weapons he'd stolen from littered dead bodies lying next to him. He breathed heavily, waiting for the sun to re-emerge from the darkness. He'd been waiting for a good three hours and still had no idea where he was. Even though his lack of eyes were meant to help him see _better _in the dark, he was completely and pathetically lost.

He lay back on the hard ground, reclining with his hands behind his head. No stars or moon in the sky. No _nothin'. _He needed to get back to the barricade before one of Darquesse's minions found him, but he knew if he moved from this spot hell would break loose.

He sighed again as he sat up, one hand firmly gripping onto the sack of weapons. He was about to stand and awkwardly navigate himself around a little, when he heard a cough from behind him. He turned his head and saw a tall shadow. In two seconds he was up on his feet and swinging his fist at the person's face, only to have his hand caught in a iron-tight grip. He growled and struggled to prise it away, his face twisted in pain.

"Is that any way to treat your long lost girlfriend, honey-bunny?" A seductive voice purred and he felt his heart stop, his body give up. He was just standing there, his hand trapped, painfully close to the estranged Tanith Low. _His _Tanith Low.

"Tanith." He managed to say after a long pause. "Long time no see, darlin'."

"Oh, I know, I know." She murmured back. He could smell her, could feel the tickle of her hair as she leant in close to his ear to whisper, "Have you missed me?"

He ignored her, jerking his head away. "Has Darquesse let you off her leash?"

He could practically _hear _her pout. "You haven't missed me even a _little, _honey?"

"Of course I damn have." He snapped back. "Every goddamn day. I've been waiting for you for years, Low."

"And I'm sorry, truly, I am. But I was a little busy, sweetums, what with protecting my Saviour and everything. You can understand that, can't you?" She grabbed the back of his head, her lips mere centimetres from his own. "But I'm here now, and Darquesse even has a place for you. So if you're very, very good and quiet around her, you can come and be with me again."

"Temptin'." He grabbed her hand and took it away from his head, yet he couldn't bring himself to let go. "But I think I'll pass, hon."

Disbelief was evident in her voice. "I'm sorry?"

"Yeah. No offence or nothin.' But I gotta leave now, so…"

"You're making a mistake, honey-bunny. If you walk away from me now, you'll never see me again. Ever."

"An' that _would _be a shame." He admitted, and he wasn't even lying. It would damn near kill him all over again, just like the last time. But that was just another sacrifice he'd have to take for Tanith's survival and his own. He kissed her mouth roughly, before turning away and walking off into the never-ending darkness. He had no idea where he was going, and he didn't care much either.

"You'll regret this, Billy-Ray!" He heard her shout furiously at his departing back. "You'll regret the fucking day you did this to us!"

_I know, honey. I regret it already. _

**Please review guys! Much love to YOU reading this!**


	5. On Her Own

**Guys, honestly, thank you so much! You're incredible! I wanted to get another chapter out to you as soon as possible, because you have been SO amazingly nice to me! I really hope you enjoy and please tell me what you think (: x**

Skulduggery burst his way through the wooden doors of the Barricade Prison, storming up to the elderly looking woman by the desk. A single candle burned brightly next to her, just allowing Skulduggery to make out her face.

"I need to see a prisoner." He said calmly, "As soon as possible."

"I would expect nothing less." The woman replied in bitter amusement, lifting her eyes to look at him. "But you should know, this darkness has caused most of them to go even more crazy than normal."

"The person I want to see will be fine." Came the firm response and the woman arched an eyebrow.

"Very well. The name?"

"China Sorrows."

There came a small pause as the woman regarded him with interest. "I see. Cell number 6, though I assume you know that already; after all, you arrested her."

"That I did."

"Will you need a guide?"

"Are there any guides?"

The woman glanced around, then looked back at him with a shake of her head. "Appears not. They're most likely dead after our little Darquesse problem, I suppose. You'll have to make do without. I'm simply on desk duty."

"And a splendid job you're doing, too." Skulduggery tilted his head as fire flared in his open palm and he moved past her. "As you were."

He walked down the narrow corridor, his footsteps unnaturally loud in the silence which was only pierced by quiet mutterings from behind certain cell doors. Skulduggery brought the fire in his hand closer to the door he had stopped at, to see a simple number '6' etched into the wood. Perfect.

He shoved open the door and made no effort to close it behind him. The prison, although seemingly shoddily built, was protected by a simple defensive spell that he'd used himself, meaning that any prisoner with a stamp engraved on their skin would never make it out through the barrier. Luckily, most of them had never dared to try.

"China Sorrows." His voice was steadily quiet as he looked at the woman before him. "Hasn't it been a while?

China's head lifted to look at him with her deep, blue eyes. Her wrists were shackled to the floor, forcing her into a kneeling position. She smiled - such a beautiful smile - as Skulduggery merely looked at her silently.

"Hello, my darling." Her voice was as pure and as sweet as ever, despite being rarely used over the years she'd been locked away. "Am I mistaken, or is it _unnaturally _dark out there?"

"Unnaturally dark."

"Oh my."

"And we were wondering - _Ghastly _was wondering - if any of your symbols would help."

China regarded him and smiled again, warmly. "My help? The great Skeleton Detective, the very man who loathes me and has had me chained away for these two years, wants _my _help? I'm honoured, my dear."

"Stop." Skulduggery growled. "Stop it and answer me. Can you fix this?"

She gave a small shrug. "Perhaps. You will, of course, have to unchain me…"

"Unfortunately. As long as you're certain you'll be able to assist us."

"I may have one small condition, my darling, before we commence."

Skulduggery looked at her and his free fist clenched. "You deserve nothing from me."

"Oh, I know. I led your family into Serpine's trap. I don't even deserve your mere company." She shook her head with a small sigh. "And I have regretted it ever since, my dear. Yet there are other criminals who are free to walk around willingly out there, while I remain in here for the foreseeable future. It's hardly fair, now is it?"

Skulduggery spoke through gritted teeth. "Life isn't fair, China. We should both know that by now."

"If I help, I'll have proven how useful I am to your little rebellion. All I'm asking for is my freedom back, Skulduggery. My freedom, and you'll never have to speak to me again. You may throw me as the first to fall at Darquesse's fire, if you wish, as long as I am unshackled whilst you do so."

He regarded her icily for a few moments and when he spoke, his voice was almost beyond recognition. It trembled with barely restricted rage and was full of nothing but pure contempt. "Fine. We have a deal, China."

She gave yet another dazzling smile. "Splendid. Quickly, now, you'd best fetch an idiotic guard to unlock these chains so we can get started."

**XxX**

China stood in the centre of the Barricade, humming softly to herself with her eyes closed. A small crowd of people had gathered around her - Fletcher and Ghastly among them - to watch the most beautiful woman in the world who had finally been freed.

"You really allowed her to manipulate you like that?" Ghastly hissed to Skulduggery, who vehemently replied that he had made the best decision for everyone.

"She'll die soon enough." He muttered harshly, "She even said so herself; I'm liable to throw her at Darquesse. Don't you worry, my friend, China Sorrows will be the first to go when Darquesse finally starts her _real _War of the World."

Ghastly looked at him, and didn't reply. Fletcher simply stared at China, a mixture of hope and fascination on his young, yet undoubtedly weathered face.

The unnaturally beautiful woman tapped two symbols on her chest, which glowed a fierce orange, and then one on her left wrist, before throwing her arms out. A glow of power swept around her and slowly…so slowly…stars began to appear in the darkened sky. The moon resurfaced, offering its slivery glow once more.

"Has she done it right?" Fletcher asked in amazement, "What's the time right now? Is it actually the real night?"

Skulduggery consulted his worn-out watch: 7:00pm, which made sense. Fletcher had arrived in the late afternoon and the darkness had lasted for many hours. He glanced up and gave an abrupt nod. "She's done it."

The people were swarming China, sobbing in gratitude, claiming their undying love for her as she simply stood with a satisfied smile on her pretty face. Her blue eyes met Skulduggery's eyeholes and she winked, causing anger to burn through him yet again. He was already regretting his decision at granting her freedom.

Now he'd have to look at her every day, knowing what she'd done to him and his family, and knowing there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

**XxX**

The door to the Medical Bay swung open and Billy-Ray Sanguine practically fell in in sheer exhaustion. He'd been lost for damn near five hours, and not _one _person in this godforsaken place had even noticed. He'd managed to navigate his way back and when he'd finally found the Barricade, the world had gone back to normal with its stars and its moon and its _normal night. _Of course it damn had.

Clarabelle's head poked out from the back room of the Bay and a radiant smile broke out on her features at the sight of him. "Billy! Oh my goodness! You're here!" She ran towards him eagerly, completely unaware of the goddamn emotional trauma he'd just faced as she gripped onto his arms. "I was so worried, but Gerald told me you'd gone to get the weapons, so I was just waiting and waiting for you to come back -"

"Yeah, well. Here now." He broke free of her hold, turning away to go and sit down on one of the free beds, consequently not noticing the young woman's expression fall.

Clarabelle refused to give up, however, and continued to elatedly talk on despite how strange he was acting. "It's been awful here, you know, with no light. But now it looks as if things have returned back to normal, and you're home, so isn't this just fantastic?" She did a twirl in her brown dress, laughing, as he lay down and chucked his sack of weapons to the ground. She stopped, her face turning sombre as she carefully sat at the foot of the bed. "Billy? What's happened?"

"Nothin's happened, doll." He drawled, purposefully turning his head away from her, "But I'm beat. Gonna get to sleep now, so, if ya wouldn't mind…"

"Oh." She cleared her throat, quickly standing up and smoothing her dress down as she offered a shaky smile. "Right, of course. Well, if you need anything…"

"Yeah." Came his final retort and she had no other option but to turn away, even though she didn't exactly have anywhere else to go. Her patients were all sleeping and Dr. Nye didn't need her for any more operations until tomorrow. Gerald and Vaurien, by the looks of them, were still asleep and she didn't want to wake them just so they could talk.

She was on her own. Again. She creaked open the doors of the Medical Bay and ducked out, wrapping her arms around her as the freezing wind took her breath away. Her long, blue curls fell over her shoulder as she craned her head back to see the moon in the darkened sky. She loved the night. It gave her the chance to completely live inside her own world, with no one else around - just as well.

Clarabelle inhaled deeply as she continued to walk, hugging her thin body. "Sometimes I close my eyes…" She murmured to no one in particular, doing just that, and a contented smile broke out across her face. "…And you're here beside me at last." She gave a small giggle, hugging her body tighter. At times like this, she could pretend that he was holding her, that he was right next to her. The night was _their _own time, just her and him. Her and Sanguine.

Of course, she knew it was all up in her head. Sanguine didn't love her; he was in love with Tanith Low. It tormented her every day, but she had come to accept it long ago. There was just the smallest of comforts knowing that Tanith would never return - perhaps, just perhaps, there was a chance -

A scream broke through the night and a shotgun ran out. Clarabelle jumped and sprang behind one of the buildings, anxiously peering out when she felt it was safe enough. A blonde woman was struggling against a group of army men. Blood was trickling down her collarbone from where a bullet had entered and her black lips were twisted in a malicious snarl as she kicked and screeched.

They had caught Tanith Low.

***le gasp* So we appear to have a love, um, square. Ghastly, Tanith, Sanguine, and now poor Clarabelle! Please review! :D **


	6. The Remnant Within

**Another longer chapter! I really hope you enjoy it, so please review! And thank you, you wonderful people, for your kind comments! Apologies for any typos (I wrote in a hurry, which isn't really a decent excuse, but…).**

**Warning: Bad language. Again. xD**

"SHE'S BACK!"

"Hold the bitch still!"

"Get the Elder! Get Bespoke!"

Cries rang out through the night as members of the army who had been unharmed by Darquesse's blast wrestled the struggling Tanith to the ground, forcing her to keep down. She kicked and screeched, the Remnant's black veins pulsing ferociously in fury, but to no avail; the army weren't showing any weakness in the slightest. The wound from where she'd been shot was oozing blood down the front of her leather jacket, staining it red, which only made her more angry.

Dexter Vex, the so-called leader, was aiming his gun at her face, his expression blank and determined while the others kept her pinned down. He looked her right in the eyes and she winked back, her black lips pulled in a taunting smirk. He wouldn't kill her; she was an old friend, after all, wasn't she?

"Who's gone to get Ghastly?" Dexter shouted at the young Fletcher Renn, who was gripping onto Tanith's arm with a look of fear and panic on his face as he stammered back some name that Tanith didn't recognise. All she knew is that this had _not _been part of her plan, but how was she meant to have known that everyone would be so…_organised? _She thought Darquesse had dealt with the majority of them and yet here Tanith was, pathetically defenceless and trapped as the men hoisted her up.

"You're gonna get what's been coming to you." A man hissed in her ear as they proceeded to roughly drag her to God-knows-where. Her boots scuffed the ground as they gripped tightly onto her forearms, pulling her towards a slightly smarter looking wooden hut. "The doctor will torture you until it gets what it wants and all of us will be listening in."

Tanith glanced at him and shot him a black-lipped smile. "Oh?"

"No more than what you deserve, you Remnant bitch. No more than what you damn deserve for what you did to my sister."

"And to my girlfriend's parents." Fletcher spoke up through gritted teeth. "You may have the face of someone I used to know, but you're still a Remnant whore."

"Oh, _Fletcher, _really?" Tanith scolded mockingly, "That's no way to treat your nearest and dearest."

The men holding her abruptly stopped so that she was yanked forwards, her arms practically pulling out of their sockets. An army officer stepped forward and rapped on the door of hut. "Dr. Nye? Dr. Nye, we have the Remnant."

The door swung open and Dr Nye's lips, punctured with thread, turned into a sinister looking smile. "My, my, gentlemen!" It exclaimed in its high-pitched voice, "Do come in. Or perhaps leave her with me. I've been waiting on this for far too long; and my experiment has finally been completed."

"You can get the Remnant out?" Fletcher asked in a hushed voice.

"It's looking very likely. Though, of course, it will be excruciatingly painful for our dear Miss. Low."

Tanith grinned and tried to ignore how fast her heart was accelerating. _Find Sanguine. He'll stop this._ "Oh, yey. But I'll have to disappoint you lot; I have _no _desire to part with this body. I - _am - _Tanith - Low. That's who I am now and you -"

An army officer punched her in the face and her head snapped back so fast that black spots began to dance in front of her eyes. Her lips was bleeding and she gagged at the blood that was filling up in her mouth due to the accidentally biting of her tongue at the impact.

"Sorry, doctor." The man chuckled, "Just thought I'd get a head start on the excruciating pain."

"Oh, please," Tanith managed to gasp out, "That was nothing, sweetheart. Go on, all of you - come and have a go, if you _really _think you're hard enough!" Her voice rose as she tried to kick out and break free once more as she was shoved into the dark and musty hut. An operating table, bathed in a harsh fluorescent light was mere centimetres from her and she felt a little sick. _Sanguine. Where the hell was Sanguine? _Oh, how she desperately needed his tunnelling trick…Or maybe even just the feel of his arms around her…

The arms lifted her up again and before she knew what was happening her wrists and ankles were being strapped down onto the god-awful table and no amount of struggling would get her free. She gave a low growl, a noise similar to an animal's as she stared into Dr. Nye's small yellow eyes. All it did was reach for a sharp knife with another twisted smile.

"You're going to cut me open, Nye?" She asked in a low, dark voice. "Won't I die from blood loss or something?"

"Nonsense, I'm a professional. Boy, will you fetch me my blue-haired assistant? She'll be around here somewhere."

Fletcher glanced up at being addressed, then gave a hasty nod as he retreated from the shack without so much as a backwards glance. The door slammed shut behind him and suddenly Tanith was painfully aware that it was just her and a crazy doctor and that no one was actually coming to help her. Then again, why _would _anyone? She despised them all and they despised her, so she didn't exactly know what she'd been expecting. All she could do was grit her teeth and remember these last moments of her life as Dr. Nye plunged its knife into her stomach.

And that was when the screaming began.

XxX

Scapegrace had woken up a while ago and was leaning his back against the wall, his legs pulled up to his chest. His head was hurting like hell and he could hear a lot of screaming coming from Dr. Nye's personal hut, which didn't really help. He wasn't sure whether to go over there and see what was going on, living up to his army title and everything, but he was tired…and the bed was comfortable…and Thrasher was still asleep.

His bed was close enough so that Scapegrace could nudge his body with his foot. "Hey. Wake up."

Thrasher's eyes fluttered open and he slowly lifted his head to look at Scapegrace. "Hm?" He glanced around blearily. "Where… are we?"

"Medical Bay, moron. How's the ankle?"

"Ankle?" He mumbled, then glanced at his left leg with a moan. "God, I'm fired. I'm in so much trouble."

"What? Don't be stupid. It was an accident."

"Have you seen my boss? It won't make any difference."

"It'll be healed in a few hours."

Thrasher snorted. "More like a four-month waiting list. I'm a worker, Scapegrace, not an army man. I'm not valued as highly as the likes of you, remember? Are _you _healed? Well?"

Scapegrace blinked at him, and raised a hand to his head. "I think so. Yes."

"Well, there you go. You're prioritised."

"Don't be like this."

"Like what?"

"Like…like how you always are nowadays with me."

"What, you'd prefer me to be a grovelling and pathetic guy like how I was a few years ago? Like before you left me? Cop onto yourself. I'm going back to sleep."

"Thrasher -"

"Gerald. My name is _Gerald_."

"I didn't realise - it's not my fault I got healed first - I didn't even _care -" _

Thrasher sat up and grouchily folded his arms. "When you get out, can you try and explain to my boss?"

"Sure. Of course."

There was an uncomfortable silence, broken by Thrasher muttering, "Where's the screaming coming from?"

"Dr. Nye's place. You know, the usual."

"I screamed. When I was in _that _place. Not that you'd know, of course." Thrasher shot him a humourless smile. "On account of the fact that you _weren't there." _

"How long are you going to hate me for this?" Scapegrace resisted the urge to glare at him and instead focused on his clasped hands.

"Oh, God knows. Probably until everyone else is dead and it's just you and me."

Scapegrace breathed out heavily. "I'm prepared to wait until then."

"Good for you. Just don't hold your breath, that's my only advice."

"You've been bad before, but never _this _bad." Scapegrace muttered.

"I try to keep the peace in front of Clarabelle. She doesn't need to know your true colours, does she?"

At least that was something they both agreed on. "I don't want you to hate me."

"That's a bit out of your control, Scapegrace. But I'll try. I'll try to warm up a little. Happy?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Scapegrace faltered a little, and, trying to come up with something decent to say, gestured towards Sanguine. "Looks like the Texan made it back."

"Good. Clarabelle was freaking out. They seem to be pretty good friends, don't they? She likes him."

Scapegrace rolled his eyes in the dark. "Infatuated." He muttered, more to himself than anything.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter. You can go back to sleep if you want."

Thrasher shrugged and lay back down, turning over on his side so that his back was to him. Scapegrace allowed himself to glare fiercely at the man, before clenching his jaw in frustration. It wasn't the first time Thrasher had given him grief about _that time _last year and it sure as hell wouldn't be the last. It was just becoming more and more hard not to tell him what had happened from _his _point of view. Maybe he -

_Not going there, Vaurien. _

He shook his head at his own thoughts and tried to settle down to sleep himself, but -as usual - knew he'd be plagued by all sorts of unholy nightmares when he eventually managed to drop off. But that was the price, he reckoned. The price of having Thrasher safe. Granted, Thrasher detested him, but he was still alive and that counted for something.

And with that thought, he lay back down and closed his eyes, hoping that _this _time he'd get a dreamless sleep.

XxX

"Be careful, Ghastly." Skulduggery walked next to his friend, almost struggling to keep up with his anxious stride, "We don't know what we're dealing with here. Tanith's been possessed for years now -"

"And?" The scarred man snapped back, "What's your point?"

Ghastly had sprung up from his desk once an army man had burst into their headquarters, babbling nonsense about Tanith Low. Before Skulduggery had even asked the man any questions, Ghastly had gone. And now here they both were, hurrying towards Dr. Nye's shack, with no idea what was happening and what was being done.

"Just…" Skulduggery hesitated, "She may not be the same person you want her to be. That's all."

"You think I won't stand by her?"

"Not at all." Came the smooth reply, "I'm concerned about her not standing by _you." _

Ghastly's pace quickened. "Nonsense. Because I'm going to ask her to marry me."

"Ghastly, please _try _to be a little realistic about this. She's most likely having a spirit ripped from her body as we speak. I don't think she'll appreciate a proposal all that much as soon as it's over with.

"Of course she will. She'll have been waiting on me."

"You have no way of knowing that."

Ghastly stopped abruptly, clenching his fists as he breathed out impatiently, "I've waited so long for this moment and I'm not letting you and your negative views stop this from being the best day of my life."

"They're not negative. They're realistic."

Ghastly purposefully turned away and continued to walk, when he suddenly broke out into a panicked run at the sound of agonised screams coming from Dr. Nye's home. Clarabelle was standing outside, her face pale as she held out her hands as if that would prevent them from entering.

"I'm sorry, Ghastly, but Dr. Nye can't be -"

He shoved her out of the way in a very uncharacteristic gesture and she stumbled with a muffled yelp. "Ghastly, you can't!"

He was reaching for the door handle when suddenly, just like that, the screams came to a sickening stop. Ghastly's breathing was hard and laboured as he reached out yet again with a shaking hand.

Clarabelle looked at him gently and then took hold of his hand, placing it on the door handle. "There you go. It sounds like the doctor's finished."

"I don't…I don't know what to do…"

"Go inside." She shot him a smile, though her mouth trembled. "Come on, off you go!"

Ghastly looked back at her and his tired face broke out into a grin as he twisted the handle and shoved himself in. Dr. Nye uncurled itself to glance at him triumphantly. Tanith was lying on the operating table, covered in a blood drenched sheet with her eyes closed, and in Dr Nye's hands, it held a jar - a jar containing the dead remains of the Remnant.

"Done." It said, its voice gleeful. "No doubt, she will be in pain. But it is done, Elder Bespoke. Now all we do is wait until she awakes. But, if I were you, I'd keep her hidden away; after all…" It gave a cackle, "a _lot _of people want her dead, do they not?"

Ghastly stared in awe, and on shaking legs, approached the table. Finally. She could be his once more. "I will. I'll do anything in my power to make sure she doesn't get away like last time."

Skulduggery stood in the door frame, Clarabelle by his side, and shook his head. He turned to the blue-haired young woman and murmured something about obsession, to which she nodded in agreement. Ghastly's wait for Tanith had, over the years, turned him into someone fairly unrecognisable. One thing was for sure - Clarabelle was certain Tanith Low wouldn't be able to get out of his grasp, even if she wanted to. Which, surely she wouldn't, because…Well, because he loved her so much. And she'd caused him so much pain already, though it hadn't _exactly _been her fault. Still…

"If you wouldn't mind?" Ghastly turned to Dr. Nye with an eager smile. "I'd like to be the person she wakes up to. Would it be alright if everyone left?"

Dr. Nye shrugged its lanky shoulders. "I suppose my assistant and I could check on some of our patients back in the Medical Bay. Come along, Clarabelle."

"You'd prefer it if I left too?" Skulduggery asked once the others had gone, only to receive a tight nod in reply. "Fine. I'll sort out any battle tactics alone, I suppose." He turned to leave through the door, only to glance back. "I hope you know what you're doing, Ghastly. Best of luck." And with that, the Skeleton Detective left, slamming the door shut behind him.

Ghastly's gaze instantly drew back to Tanith and he felt his heart - something he thought had died long ago - flourish and beat furiously as he observed her; the tousled blonde hair, the pale face and those red lips…She hadn't changed a bit…Though, of course, she _had, _and that was the worse bit.

He didn't know how long he stood there, staring at her, but suddenly her eyes snapped open and she whimpered in bewilderment, struggling against her bonds as her head turned frantically in search of someone to tell her what was going on. She finally noticed him and she inhaled sharply as he reached out to take her hand. Tanith looked terrified and wary as she simply stared at him in confusion.

"Hello," He cleared his throat nervously as he smiled down at her. "It's a pleasure to…it's amazing…I mean - good evening, Tanith."

"Wha -" She croaked, her throat raw and painful as she swallowed and tried again. "What're you doing here? What's going on?"

"Well, this isn't exactly how I imagined our date when I asked you out those years ago, either." He chuckled embarrassedly, "And, well, it's not exactly like I can get you a steak where we are at the moment…But I hope you'll accept my offer of being with you regardless."

Tanith blinked slowly at him and her mouth opened and closed wordlessly as she let his words sink in. There was an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach and she ached all over as her scattered brain struggled to grip hold of its shattered memories.

"I…Ok." She found herself whispering as she looked at her old friend. Perhaps he could help her make sense of this crazy reality she'd been dragged into. Without much else to do, she offered him a weak smile. "Ok."

"Oh, Tanith." He breathed, leaning down to kiss her ice-cold cheek, making her flinch at the contact. "Oh, Tanith. I've missed you so much."

**A/N: I've always been aware of the fact that if the Remnant ever **_**is **_**removed she'd take a lot of time to understand what was going on and she'd be confused a hell of a lot. I've read a few fics where she's instantly back to normal and that's always bugged me a bit, haha :') And there is something **_**very **_**strange about what went on with Scapegrace and Thrasher, which we'll find out soon enough! Please review and tell me what you thought! X **


	7. She's Back?

**Sorry for the stupidly long wait, everyone! I was away skiing so I didn't have a chance to add a new chapter. But here it is, and I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to leave a comment! :D **

The weak rays of the rising sun filtered in through the cracked windows of the Medical Bay and Billy-Ray Sanguine groaned, turning to bury his face in his uncomfortable pillow. He felt like death. Mornings sucked by nature, but an early rise after the night he'd had _really _wasn't what he needed.

With a disgruntled sigh, he blindly reached for his sunglasses which were lying by his side and hastily shoved them on, sweeping a hand through his blonde hair as he clambered to his feet. He could hear mutterings from various people all around the Bay as he gradually began to wake up; words such as 'bitch' and 'returned' were a few that managed to register in his mind and his curiosity was piqued.

He walked over to Scapegrace, who was sitting on his bed and looked like he hadn't slept a bit all night - dark shadows were under his blue eyes and he was as pale as death, the ghostly pallor only highlighting the red, stitched cut on his right temple - and gestured around. "What's goin' on round here, then?"

"Huh?" Scapegrace glanced at him, as if only noticing he was there. "Oh. I…I don't know."

"Liar." Sanguine smirked, "C'mon, you're an army guy, right?"

"Not at the moment. Right now I'm a patient." He clasped his hands and stared at them. "Sorry, I don't know what everyone's talking about. I'm half asleep."

"You _do _look like a zombie."

"Oh, ha." Scapegrace muttered, glaring up at him. "That was hilarious."

"I know, I know." Sanguine's grin broadened, "Aw, man, your _face_. I'm only jokin' with you."

"Yeah, well, excuse me if I find it hard to laugh at stuff like that right now."

"Christ, who rattled _your _cage this mornin' ?" Sanguine snorted and Scapegrace sighed, running hand through his hair.

"I know. Sorry. I just - I haven't slept at all, and my head hurts…And…Do you ever think, you know, that it would be better if we were dead?"

"Excuse me?"

"No, no, hear me out. Like, have you ever just wanted to _give up? _Haven't you ever thought that we're fighting a battle which there's no way we'll win?"

Sanguine scratched the back of his head. "I just figured one day the skeleton would get Cain and -"

"But he won't." Scapegrace stood up, his eyes flashing; for a moment, he looked quite mad. "That's the thing, he won't. Because that's not Cain, that's Darquesse. And we can _never _kill Darquesse. Don't you understand?"

"Have you and your l'il boyfriend had an argument or something? 'Cos you ain't soundin' or lookin' too good."

"Oh my God. And that's it, that's the problem." Scapegrace pointed at him accusingly, but his mouth was trembling. "Small-mindedness. Two gay people can't talk without people assuming they're together. It's the same everywhere, even with half the world blown up. Thrasher and I are barely talking anymore and _still, _just because I'm _gay, _you think we're a couple."

"You have _completely _lost me, Scapegrace. What's that gotta do with anything you were talkin' about before?"

The man blinked, and seemed to return from somewhere very far away as he stared into the distance, breathing heavily. Eventually, his gaze returned to Sanguine's. "Sorry, what…what were we talking about?"

Dr. Nye - from where it had been doing its finishing touches on Erskine Ravel's injury - walked over. "Oh, dear." It said mildly. "I do believe our ex -zombie still has forms of mild concussion."

"Well," Sanguine muttered, "that'll explain it. Go to bed, Scapegrace."

"Where's he gone?" Scapegrace suddenly gripped onto Nye's arms in desperation, his eyes filling up, "Doctor, they've taken him from me again. I don't have any more money.

"Is he high?" Sanguine looked at the doctor with a raised eyebrow. "What in tarnation is he doin'?"

"I have no idea." Nye replied simply, steering the man back to his bed and bringing out a small bottle. "But he should probably drink this."

Scapegrace saw Thrasher and visibly relaxed. "Oh, look. Look, doctor, it's ok. They brought him back. They listened to me."

"Yes, yes." Nye said impatiently, opening the vial of liquid and trying to pour it down the man's throat. "Very good."

"Doctor Nye," Scapegrace seemed to almost return to normal as he tried to pull away from its grip, looking at it imploringly. "Heal his ankle before you do anything else." And with that, he snatched the bottle himself and drank it all, before practically collapsing back onto the bed with a small smile on his face.

Sanguine shook his head witheringly and glanced at Fletcher Renn's girlfriend, who was sitting up on her own bed, embracing her knees as she gazed at Scapegrace's sleeping form with a look of understanding. "Don't judge him, sir." She spoke up in a delightful Australian accent, and cracked a smile at the Texan. "I know what it's like to be crazy too."

"I wasn't -" He cut himself off roughly, shaking his head. "Whatever, kid."

"At any rate," she continued in a hushed voice, "it'll catch up with you, too. You were in a relationship with a psycho Remnant, after all…Weren't you?" She frowned at him, her brown hair framing her pale face as his jaw clenched.

"Don't call my girl that. She - well, she was more than a Remnant, got it? Shut your damn mouth."

"She killed my parents. If she was here now, in this room, sir, I could _not _be held responsible for my actions. But I'll probably get the chance soon enough, anyway…" She hugged her knees closer to her chest, a grin flitting across her face and Sanguine frowned.

"What are you talkin' about, kid?"

"Oh, nothing." Myra murmured, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, still smiling. "Nothing at all, sir. Have a nice day."

Sanguine looked at her, frustrated at her coyness, before turning on his heel and leaving the Medical Bay out into the freezing outdoors. There was a large commotion, a crowd of people, surrounding a couple with hoods pulled low over their face. The two of them were fighting their way through into the nicer part of the Barricade, where the huts were actually made out of decent materials. Of course, only the _Elders _lived there. So why would anyone try to attack an Elder?

"Get out of here, you bitch!" Someone shrieked, hurling a large stone at the smaller of the two's back, but missing by narrow centimetres. "Get OUT!"

"Stay away from us!" A man from the crowd roared, trying to shove his way forward as the couple did their best to escape the onslaught. "We don't want you here, you disgusting whore!"

Sanguine found himself caught up in the surge and he was suddenly surrounded by a sea of people. He saw a flash of blue hair and outstretched his arm. "Clarabelle! _Clarabelle!" _He managed to lean forward and grip onto the young woman's elbow. She whipped around and her eyes widened at the sight of him.

"Billy - Billy, you should get out of here!" Her usually dreamy voice was panicked and…something else, something he couldn't quite place. "Please, Billy, you can't stay, it's not safe -"

"What the hell are you doin'? Come on, come on." He dragged her forcefully, and together they proceeded to shove their way out of the swarming crowd. "This place has gone to hell," He shouted over the noise, "What in God's name is happenin', girl?"

They finally managed to escape the throng of people and Clarabelle smoothed down her brown dress and tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear as she glanced back up at him timidly.

"C'mon," Sanguine panted, wiping his brow as they hurried away from the furious crowd, his free hand still gripping onto her forearm. "What's goin' on? Who's back?"

She looked at him and felt rejection and misery tear at her insides before she whispered softly, "Tanith Low."

At this his mood drastically changed; he let go of her only to roughly pin her by the shoulders as he shook her in his anger. She struggled to get away, terror evident in her eyes as he wouldn't relent. "Billy! Billy, let go -!"

"How long? Where've they taken her? Are you fuckin' _kiddin' _me, Clarabelle? You know how long I've waited and now you're joinin' in the crowd who want to have her _lynched?" _

She managed to tear herself away and a defiant look crept onto her features as she wrapped her muddy shawl tighter around her shoulders. "Don't worry yourself, _Mr. _Sanguine. She'll be safe in her bed, without a single dark thought left in her." Her voice cracked as she persisted, "She's back in Ghastly's arms again and he won't let her go. I only wanted to see her for myself - she _was _a friend."

"Yeah? She was my girlfriend, you stupid -" He cut himself off as she inhaled sharply, roughly running his hands through his blonde hair as he breathed out. "Shit. Shit, I'm sorry, Clarabelle. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean any of that."

"I'm sorry too." She managed to say as she tried to meet his gaze. "But the Remnant's left her, Billy. It's not the person you knew anymore."

"I don't care." He clutched onto her shoulders once more, but he was smiling hopefully. "Hey - you're a good friend, y'know?"

She found herself grinning in spite of herself and her cheeks flushed. "I am?"

"'Course you are. One of the greatest girls in this whole place. So…so you'd help me out, wouldn't you? You'd take me to her?"

She smiled playfully at him, before coyly asking, "And what would you give me?"

He laughed, surprised more than anything else, as he let go of her. "Oh, _anything, _doll_." _He tapped the frame of his sunglasses as he rummaged in his pocket and came out with a few silver coins.

Clarabelle's face lost its smile as she glanced at the coins in his hand, before wrinkling her nose. "I don't want your money, Billy."

"Didn't think you would. You're not the type." He chuckled, returning the coins to his pocket as he casually draped an arm around her shoulder. "So, c'mon. What _do _you want?"

"I'll sleep on it." She giggled, beaming up at him.

"That's my girl. So you'll help me out, won't you? You'll find out where the scarred guy's keepin' her?"

Clarabelle tried to conjure up another smile as his arm left her body and she nodded. Of course she'd help. Anything to make Billy-Ray Sanguine happy. Anything at all.

XxX

"It's not much, I know." Ghastly held open the door to Tanith's private room with a bashful smile. "But I kept it here especially for your return."

Tanith wrapped her arms around herself as she blankly took her small surroundings in; there was a rickety bed pushed against the wall and a thread-worn rug on the floor, as well as one or two chairs. The biggest advantage was the single window, allowing a small portion of sunlight in and giving a view of the barricade.

She winced as Ghastly's hand brushed across her shoulders. A sizeable stone had found its target when she'd been hustled through the furious crowd and her body was already covered in small, purple bruises. Tanith made herself smile weakly at the tailor, before whispering in a croaky voice, "Thank you."

Those two words made Ghastly's smile broaden as he enveloped her into a hug. "Of course, Tanith. Of course."

Tears pricked in her eyes as he held her and it took all of her self-restraint not to break down completely in front of him. Fragments of her shattered memory flitted through her mind, pieces which Ghastly probably thought she couldn't remember due to the Remnant leaving her. But it wasn't as simple as that - her and the Remnant had been _bonded. _For Tanith Low, everything had changed.

"Well, I'll have to leave you for a little bit." Ghastly said once he'd let go of her, luckily not noticing the state she was in. "But there's a dressing gown for you on the bed if you want to change…"

"I like my leather."

"I know. And you know _I _do too. But it's just to make you more comfortable. Whatever you prefer." He kissed her cheek, before leaving the room with a smile and Tanith's torn heart.


	8. A Tormented Tanith

**I have a new computer! (YEY) So this means more conveniently –timed updates!**

**On a side note, I now love Team Starkid, especially the Potter Musical trilogy (currently watching AVPSY now!). I know Onyx Spirita and Carolina Blues love it too so a big HEY if you guys are reading this and YOU'RE AWESOME! So, who else loves it? Who else can we fangirl with? ;) By the way, Quirrellmort for the win.**

**Ahem, anyway. Some offensive language in here, but I hope you like the update. Please leave a review! Thanks everyone! **

There came a knock on Tanith's bedroom door a few hours later and she hastily sprang up from her bed, shoving the scraps of paper scrawled with her uncoordinated writing under her pillow. Darquesse was fighting to get inside her head, and Tanith couldn't explain what was happening. She'd had a Remnant in her…And she'd been working for Darquesse – Darquesse, the Destroyer of the World, but with the face of Valkyrie Cain... Tanith wondered if anything would make sense to her ever again.

In any case, she was putting the psychic link she had with Darquesse to good use, scribbling everything down that Darquesse shrieked in her head, to later report to Ghastly. By the sounds of it, her old Mistress was getting restless, wondering where Tanith was, causing her to occasionally break through into Tanith's own mind.

The blonde woman ran a hand through her dishevelled hair, and wrapped her white dressing gown tighter around herself as she cleared her throat. "Come in."

The door opened and a funny looking little thing hesitantly edged in. She had startling blue hair and was wearing a brown dress, mud streaks and cuts over her bare arms, with big wide eyes which held a mixture of fear and wonder in them as they regarded Tanith.

"It's true." The woman breathed, then a wide smile broke out across her face as she clapped her hands eagerly. "Tanith!"

Tanith blinked, thoroughly startled at the intruder. "Yes. That's me."

"Don't you recognise me? Oh, the hair, I suppose, that's different…And I'm skinnier than I was…And probably an absolute mess…But it's me, it's Clarabelle!"

A smile tugged at Tanith's lips, her tired and gaunt face suddenly lighting up. "Hey! Oh my God, look at you! Your…yeah, your hair…wow."

She giggled, tucking a blue strand behind her ear self-consciously. "Yep…"

Something jolted in Tanith's brain; another fragment of memory. She clutched onto it quickly, before it could disappear and blurted out: "Listen, you must know what's going on. Have you seen my boyfriend?"

Clarabelle stopped, a small frown on her face. "Your…boyfriend?"

"Yeah." Tanith continued, a hint of desperation creeping into her voice. "See, I can't remember how I got here, and my boyfriend could be anywhere, so I need to find him. But Ghastly won't let me leave this room. He's…he's blonde, and he's from Texas, and he always wears sunglasses – What? What is it?"

Clarabelle was looking at her warily, and had in fact begun to back away slightly. "Um…"

"You know something, don't you? Tell me. I'll find out soon enough, anyway. Come on." A hard edge had been added to her tone of voice and she realised her fists were beginning to clench. She hastily tried to relax, taking deep breaths.

"Tanith, I don't know what to say." She said meekly, her eyes fixated on the ground. "Don't you remember?"

"I don't know _what _I remember!" She protested, her hands raking through her hair in agitation. "Is he dead? Fuck, Clarabelle, is he dead?"

"No! No, he's not dead, but…but he isn't your boyfriend, either." The blue-haired woman said in a rush, "He hasn't been for a long time and… _Ghastly's_ supposed to be your boyfriend now."

Tanith blinked, her hands slowly lowering until they were back at her sides. "Ghastly?" She whispered hoarsely, "But…but I…Oh, God." A long, drawn out moan escaped from her as she collapsed into a sitting position on her bed, her entire body shaking. "Oh, God, I don't know. I don't know what's going on."

"The survivors of England have taken refuge in this Barricade." Clarabelle wrinkled her nose, trying to find the best way to explain the situation. "There are others out there, but Darquesse has destroyed most of the countries with…with you by her side, as a Remnant."

Tanith buried her head in her hands and didn't say anything. She could have been crying; her shoulders were still shaking, yet no sound was coming out of her mouth.

"When you were the Remnant you abandoned your…boyfriend. It was as an act of loyalty to Darquesse, I think. But last night you came into our Barricade and the army caught you. Dr. Nye removed the Remnant."

"Nye!" Tanith leapt to her feet again in a sudden fury. "That _bastard! _He cut me open! He tortured me for hours! Where's my sword?"

"I…I don't…"

"Where's – my – fucking – SWORD!" Tanith shrieked, grabbing the chair and hurling it across the room. Clarabelle jumped out of the way as it crashed into the wall, falling in splintered pieces. "Give me it! Give me it so I can cut that son of a bitch open too!"

"Tanith!" Clarabelle yelped in alarm, "Tanith, please! Calm down!"

"Why are you even here? It's to check up on me, isn't it? It's to see if there's any of that Remnant left inside of me, so he can experiment on me even more. Well, I won't do it. I _WON'T."_

"No!" Clarabelle protested, clearly terrified as she backed up against the door, "No, it isn't, it isn't! I just wanted to see if you were ok!"

"Oh, yes, I'm fine. I'm fucking _peachy. _Get out of here. Now. I don't want to see anybody, do you understand? Tell all those interfering bastards out there that I'm not interested in having a big reunion. Have you got that?"

"Yes." Clarabelle breathed out, giving a shaky nod. "Y-Yes, that's fine."

"Good." Tanith struggled to compose herself, before turning away and making her way back to her bed. "Off you go, then."

A few seconds later the door had clicked shut and she was alone once more. She shoved her head into her pillow and once she was sure that she wouldn't be interrupted again, she let her reluctant tears fall.

XxX

"Hello, my dear."

Skulduggery tensed up at the sound of China Sorrows and didn't even bother giving her a reply. Instead, he focused himself on reloading his gun, spending an agonising amount of time slipping the bullets into their chambers.

"I've heard that Tanith Low's back." She continued breezily, walking over to stand by his side. "News certainly travels fast around here, after all."

"What do you want, China?" He snarled, purposefully keeping his head down to avoid looking at her.

"Oh, so now I can't do small talk with the Skeleton Detective?" he could hear, rather than see her dazzling smile. "Pity. I'm not here to bargain or beg with you, if that's what you're worried about. What I did to you was unforgivable. I, above all else, am well aware of that. But still, my dear, if we're going to be in this situation for a while, we're going to have to live with being around each other."

"Perhaps." He replied curtly, sliding his gun into his holster, "But if you'll excuse me, I have a visit to the Medical Bay that I need to get to. Ravel should be up and moving soon enough."

"That's wonderful news." She said sincerely. "Very well, then. I'll leave you to it. I dare say I'll see you around, my darling."

"Yes." He muttered, approaching the door as he struggled to contain his anger, "I dare say you will, China."

Her laugh followed him out of the door of the shack and he clenched his fists once he was outside, hurling a fireball into the distance to vent out some of his frustration before storming away to the Medical Bay. Good God, that woman. That damn woman.

He shoved open the door of the Bay once he had reached it, only to bump into an agitated looking Fletcher.

"Sorry," the boy muttered, dodging out of his way, while his girlfriend Myra was heard screaming abuse at him from her bed.

"Trouble in paradise?" Skulduggery asked smoothly, his eye sockets flickering over to the hysterical Australian girl.

"She had another flashback." Fletcher said gruffly, "Dr. Nye told me to leave so he can give her something to help."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. They just keep getting worse and there's nothing I can do to –"

A strong, tall man suddenly shoved his way past them both, causing Fletcher to stumble.

"Hey!" He snapped bitterly at the intruder. "Do you _mind?"_

"I wouldn't worry about it." Skulduggery told him, "That's the leader of the workers, a man called Ferr. And it looks like one of his recruits has a broken ankle. If I were you, I'd leave now, because this is going to be messy."

"Got it." Fletcher gave him a weak smile and with one last pained look at Myra, ducked out of the door. Skulduggery straightened his tie and proceeded to walk over to Ravel's bed, where the Grand Mage himself was sitting up, slipping his jacket back on.

"Skulduggery!" Ravel grinned. "And look at that, the Barricade hasn't been blown up, even without my fantastic leadership skills!"

Skulduggery chuckled. "It was a close call. Glad to see you back on your feet."

"Ah, it was nothing." He waved his hand dismissively. "Just a splinter."

"Erskine, you got impaled by wood. It went right through your stomach."

"And yet there isn't a scratch on me. I have a feeling you're dressing it up, old friend." Ravel winked and hauled himself up, dusting his clothes down. "So. What've I missed?"

"Where do you want me to start?" Skulduggery asked bitterly, gesturing towards the door. "We'd best go to our headquarters. We have a lot to discuss."

"Now this sounds promising." Erskine grinned and started to say something else, but was interrupted by an angry shout from the deranged looking work leader, Ferr.

"Yeah, I know you've got a broken ankle. I can fucking see that, pal, what I want to know is why it hasn't been _fixed_ yet! I need you on a job right _now!" _

Gerald shrugged helplessly. "It's because…I'm a worker…" He mumbled, looking fairly terrified. "There's a list until I can get fixed, sir."

"You're useless. You're a burden on the whole lot of us, you little fag –"He never got to finish his sentence, because Scapegrace, from the next bed had jumped up and punched him in the face.

There was a stunned silence as Ferr raised his hand to his mouth and pulled it away to find it stained red. His face twisted in fury and Scapegrace laughed nervously.

"Uh. Right. Sorry about…about that…" He began, backing away as the man lumbered towards him. "But 'fag' isn't really a nice word to use, you know? B-because…his orientation doesn't have anything to do with his broken ankle, does it?"

Gerald looked unsure whether to cheer Scapegrace on or retreat back to bed to hide away from his clearly insane boss. In any case, when Ferr swung a punch, Skulduggery was the first to step in, his hand outstretched.

"Gentlemen." He said smoothly. "I think now's the time where we make amends and go our separate ways. Gerald here can apologise for stupidly breaking his ankle, and Ferr can apologise for his use of offensive language, while Scapegrace can go and hide away somewhere like he always does."

"That sounds fine with me." Scapegrace muttered, hurriedly walking over to his bed to retrieve his army jacket. He glanced at Gerald and then quickly looked away, before walking out of the door and slamming it shut.

Ferr turned around angrily, pointing at Gerald. "When you finally get that ankle of yours healed, get yourself straight to work, do you hear me?"

"Yeah. I hear you." Gerald said, relief visible in his young face as Ferr stormed outside, leaving a silence in the Medical Bay. Myra was sitting up in her bed, a look of amazement on her face.

"That army guy had some guts." She breathed in admiration, and Skulduggery glanced over at her.

"I suppose, when he puts his mind to it…" He admitted grudgingly, "Now, Ravel. Come on. We have _important_ things to talk about."

Ravel had looked at the whole show in amusement, but now he snapped into business mode. "Absolutely." He smiled, already leading the way. "Let's go."

XxX

"Tanith? Tanith, I'm back. Sorry, I had a lot of work to sort out…" Ghastly entered the room to see her lying down on her bed, her back to him. He smiled to himself, realising she was probably worn out. The small box he had in his pocket, the ring that had belonged to his mother felt like it was burning a hole through his skin in anticipation.

"Tanith?" He repeated, gently shaking her shoulder. She sat up in alarm, her eyes wide, then relaxed as she saw who it was.

"Oh." Her voice was still strained and exhausted. "Hello, G-Ghastly."

"How are you?"

She bit her lip, then decided it was better to lie. After all, if what Clarabelle had said was true, then Ghastly was her boyfriend now, which meant she'd tortured him enough when she was a Remnant. Now was her chance to put it right. "I'm fine. Feeling better."

"Good! Oh, that's good." He grinned, taking both her hands in his. "Hey…Tanith…there's something I've been dying to ask you, ever since we were parted.

Tanith gave a small frown. Since they were parted…? But, if she remembered correctly, they hadn't even been going out before she'd been possessed. Right? What was going on?

He reached into his pocket and brought out a small black box. Her breath hitched in her throat and she felt panic seize control. What in God's name was going on?

"You know I love you. And I know you love me. So why don't we make this official? Tanith, will you be my wife?" He slipped a golden ring on her finger and she stared at it for countless seconds, before meeting his gaze again.

"I…" She couldn't bear to see him hurt. She'd done enough of that to last a lifetime. Besides, he said he loved her…and she was meant to love him…She forced a smile onto her face before giving a jerky nod. "Sure. Sure I will."

He gathered her up in his strong arms, laughing. "Tanith. Tanith, Tanith…By the end of this week, you and I are going to be married. Once and for all."

**Hope you enjoyed! Please review! X **


	9. The Forbidden Meeting

**Hey y'all! Thanks for all your kind comments! Here's another chapter just for YOU, reader!**

**Also, to my guest reviewer Calli – you commented on chapter one recently, asking when my next update would happen, so I'm not sure if you read chapter 8? If you have, completely ignore me xD**

**Hope you enjoy, everyone! Please review! **

"An' God, I don't know, I'll probably…I'll probably just tell her how much I've missed her, y'know? Or – that'll creep her out, won't it? Maybe I should just – shit, I ain't good with feelin's –"

Clarabelle tried to keep focused on guiding Sanguine towards the place where Tanith was being kept, but it was quite hard when he was leaping around next to her, rambling on and grinning all over his face.

"Hey, Ding."

She blushed at the endearing nickname Gerald had given her, which had quickly spread around the whole Barricade. It was due to the 'belle' part of her name and referring it to the 'ding' sound a made by a bell. She glanced back at Sanguine with a hesitant smile. "Yes?"

He grabbed her by the arms and swung her around repeatedly and she laughed, already dizzy. "Billy!"

"Ding, I don't mind tellin' ya, I feel on top of the world right now."

"You haven't even seen her yet." Clarabelle said in confusion, hurrying to keep up with his pace.

"It's just that…that feelin'. Knowin' she's nearby. I can't explain it. One day you'll feel it too, providin' we all live long enough."

She blushed again, her heart hammering in her ribcage as she slowed. Sanguine stopped walking and glanced at her. "Are we here? Where is she?"

"See that building?" The blue-haired woman pointed, "Her room's round the back and it has a window. You should be able to talk to her from there."

"Great! What're we waitin' for, then?" He grabbed onto her arm and she shook her head rapidly.

"No, no! Billy, I can't go _with _you, she can't stand the sight of me!"

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, but she threw a chair at me earlier and – you know, it's probably a better idea if I keep watch around here. If anyone sees you…"

"Good plan. See, this is why I talk to you. You ain't as crazy as they make you out to be."

She winced. "You…You think I'm crazy too?"

"Huh?" he said distractedly, bouncing on the soles of his feet as he edged closer to the building, Clarabelle close at his heels. "Aw, shit, no." He glanced back at her with a shake of his head. "That came out wrong, doll. You know me, I ain't good with words. I don't think you're crazy at all."

She smiled at him, only for it to once again fall from her face as he turned away again. "That building there, yeah?"

"Yep." She mumbled, "Go on. I'll keep an eye out here."

"You're a darlin'." He took a deep breath, "Girly comment here, but do I look alright?"

"I think you'd look fabulous in the colour red. Do you have a red tie?"

"Uh, no. No, I don't…don't think so…"

"Oh. That's ok."

"Do I need one? Does the colour red make ladies swoon or somethin'? Have I been missin' out?"

"Hm?" She glanced at him, "No, I just like red. I'm zoning out, sorry."

Sanguine shook his head, realising Clarabelle wasn't exactly the _best _person to have as a look-out, but smiled nonetheless. "Well, alright. Great. Here…Here I go."

"Good luck, Billy-Ray." She beamed at him, but there was something strange in her eyes that he couldn't quite make out.

He nodded again, before making his way on suddenly shaky legs towards the house. He crept round the back and – true enough – there was a window there, yet there was something obviously wrong with the scene. When he approached he realised the glass had all been violently smashed and the room inside was enveloped in darkness. Fair enough, it was night outside, but there wasn't even a burning candle or anything.

"Billy? You ok?" Clarabelle's sweet, birdsong voice rang in his ears and he glanced over his shoulder.

"Don't think anyone's in there." He replied, "Place looks ransacked." He rested his forearm on the glass-less window, his hand dangling uselessly in the black room. "Probably moved her. Well, _damn." _He gave a disgruntled sigh and made to move his arm back from the room, when suddenly a hand gripped tightly onto it.

He held his breath, staring at the pale, feminine hand, and slowly…Her face came into view from the shadows, as beautiful as ever in the moonlight. Her startling blue eyes regarded him, and suddenly a smile broke out on her exhausted and worn-out face.

Sanguine swallowed nervously and the only thing he could manage was an _incredibly_ lame, "Am I dreamin'?"

"I hope not," She whispered back, and he felt his heart beat furiously, "because I think I've just woken up."

"Tanith."

"Sanguine."

"I…I don't…Uh…" He cleared his throat self-consciously, "How are you? I mean… the remnant's gone, right?"

"I'm so confused. Billy-Ray, I don't know what's real and what isn't. Everything feels so blurry and I don't understand…"

"Then I just want you to know somethin'. I didn't love you just because of the remnant. I still love you regardless."

"You honestly love me? You're crazy."

"Yeah, I'm that too."

"You can't love me. Ghastly's talking about killing you, do you understand? I overheard him. He's planning on getting rid of you for good if you go near me. You have to stay away."

"And you know full well that ain't ever gonna be an option for me, Tanith. I've been without you for far too long, anyway."

"They say I left you." She said, her voice low, "Did I?"

He hesitated, then nodded. "But no hard feelin's. What the hell happened in here, anyway?"

Her face flushed. "I broke the window. I was getting so claustrophobic, and they'd all left me alone again. Seriously, they come in here and then go away within two seconds. They lock me in, so 'no one can harm me'. It's like a prison."

"Can you climb out? You can run off now."

"I've tried. They've obviously thought of everything, because it's too fucking small. Besides, where could I go? It's a secluded barricaded area, isn't it? You'd think I'd be able to unlock the door with my magic, but…" Her voice dropped to a dark whisper, "I think they've bound this room, that's why I feel so weak. It's barbaric."

She sighed and rubbed at her forehead tiredly with her free hand, then snapped her head up. "There was a fire." She said suddenly, and he frowned, waiting for her to continue. Her face was elated and she was breathing rapidly, "Two years ago, right? There was a fire in that house I was robbing, and you pulled me out. You saved me."

"Oh. Oh, yeah. That time."

"You saved my life, even though I'd put you through so much shit. I broke your hand."

"Only when your remnant was in a mood."

"How can you excuse the things I did? Wasn't _I _the remnant?"

"You were – and still are – so much more than that."

She looked at him silently for a few moments and she smiled yet again, as she leant closer towards him and he did the same. They were so close to each other, about to kiss, when he noticed something wasn't right. He pulled back and grabbed at her hand, his expression suddenly stony.

"That's a mighty fine ring you have there, Tanith."

She blinked and, as if in a trance, glanced down at her hand, where the engagement ring shone in the moonlight. "I…"

"Seriously? _Seriously?" _He roughly let go of her and she desperately tried to snatch his hand back.

"No, wait! No, it was…like I said, everything's all b-blurry, I can't even _r-r-remember!"_

"I know when you're lyin'. You remember perfectly, don't you?"

"Fine, yes! _Yes_! But it's not h-how you think! I didn't even know y-you were still in the area!"

"Goddammit, woman. Well, you know somethin'? You're welcome to him, because I am _out. _I was your little punchin' bag, your little mode of transport, your little slave for far too long. Now good ol' Elder Bespoke can have his turn."

"But I don't _want_ him to have his turn! I want _you! _Christ, if it's the last thing you do, you have to believe me! Sanguine, please –"

"Billy!" A woman, that Clarabelle – what the hell was she even doing here? - ran up and tugged at his arm, "Erskine Ravel's coming, we have to _go! Billy!" _

Sanguine nodded tightly and allowed himself to be pulled away from the window. Tanith growled in frustration, punching the wall as the two of them disappeared out of her sight, back into the shadows. She could've cried, if she wasn't so exhausted and her head wasn't hurting so much.

Why? Why the hell did shit like this always happen? She rubbed furiously at her face, glowering down at the ring on her finger, before her façade cracked and she allowed the tears to run down her cheeks and splash onto the cold floor.

XxX

The following day, her window was all fixed up, courtesy of the workers, who had glared at her and muttered insults when Ghastly hadn't been around.

She'd told him it had been an attack, that someone had thrown a rock at her, smashing the window up – it was easier than telling the truth, anyway. He'd gone so pale, though, and had held her tightly in his arms, making her want to cry again at what an awful person she was.

"Skulduggery wants to see you again." Ghastly murmured to her as she cradled a mug of tea – where he had gotten the drink from, she had no clue, because she hadn't set a foot outside for God knew how long – "And I told him it would be fine if it's ok with you. He'll call by the place soon. Is that alright?"

Tanith shrugged wearily. Her head ached. Her heart ached. "Yeah. That's…that's fine…" Her tongue felt inexplicably heavy, but she had to get the words out as she blurted, "Why didn't you tell me Sanguine was still in the area?"

He froze and she could have kicked herself. "How did – was he the one who threw a rock into this room? Did he try to hurt you?"

"What?" She asked, startled, "No! No, it was just a bunch of kids, wanting to get a look at the no-good remnant. But I've seen him, Ghastly, I've seen him around…isn't he one of the workers?"

Ghastly's jaw had clenched as he paced around the small room. Tanith was sitting on the bed, her legs curled up to her chest as she placed the mug of tea onto the floor. She anxiously bit her fist, her eyes cast downwards, as Ghastly eventually spoke: "Unfortunately, yes, he's still here. I'm sorry. I know how hard this must be for you, but there's nothing we can do. Luckily enough, you're safe in here, so you'll never have to see or talk to him."

She nodded silently and tried a smile before saying, "Yeah. Exactly."

"Listen, I need to go and do some work with Ravel. Is that alright?"

Tanith felt her heart sink yet again, but kept that stupid fake smile on her face. "Sure. I know how busy you are."

"You must be lonely, though. I always feel so bad when I have to leave."

"It's fine."

"You know, if I could, I'd spend every passing hour with you."

She smiled thinly. "I know. Thanks. But really, I'm ok." She turned her head to glance out of her newly-fixed window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sanguine. "It's not exactly as if anyone wants to visit the crazy woman, anyway." She added in a murmur, but of course he heard her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them soothingly as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Don't be ridiculous. We're all so happy you're back with us."

"Not all."

"The only people who _matter _are happy." He insisted firmly, clearly refusing to give up. "Me, Skulduggery…Ravel and Fletcher….Clarabelle too – didn't she come by to see you?"

"Half of the people you mentioned are terrified of me. Of what I've done."

"The remnant did it – not you."

"Ghastly, you won't even tell me the parts I don't remember. How am I meant to get on with life if you won't tell me anything?" Her voice rose as she turned to face him, her eyes full of desperation. "In my nightmares so many things show up, but I don't know if they ever actually happened!"

His face had taken on that determined look which she knew all too well as he stood from the bed. "I only want what's best for you, Tanith. You're better off not knowing."

She stood up too, looking at him pleadingly. "I'm not a _child, _Ghastly! You can't keep me in the dark like this all the time! Look, you're kind, and gentle, and I know you're trying to help me, because that's who you are, but –" She broke herself off as her hand connected with the bare skin of her neck and a frown flitted across her face. "Hey, where's…where's my necklace?"

Ghastly gave a noticeable hesitation which he immediately covered with a smile. "Sorry?"

"My…my necklace…I've been wearing it since…"Recognition struck her as she slowly lowered her hand. "Sanguine gave it to me when I was possessed and now it's gone."

"Just as well," Ghastly said briskly, "you don't need anything from him anymore, do you?"

"You took it." Anger laced her words as spat with a furious twist of her mouth, "YOU TOOK MY FUCKING NECKLACE!"

"Calm down, Tanith. You're getting hysterical again."

She screamed when he grabbed her and scratched her nails down his arms in an effort to break free from his strong grasp. "GET – OFF – ME!"

"Tanith!"

"You had no right! Ghastly, you had no _right! _That was mine and I could do whatever the hell I wanted with it! What else have you taken from me?" Her voice reached a new pitch as she continued to wrestle and roar at him. "I WANT MY STUFF BACK!"

"I don't have it anymore!" He responded loudly, throwing her back down onto the bed. "Can't you see how ridiculous you're being over something that has no sentimental value to you whatsoever? It's gone, and so has the remnant, and now you have a chance to be happy again! And you're _still _living in the past!"

Tears stung at her eyes. "Well, maybe in the past I was happier."

"I refuse to even respond to such stupidity." Ghastly turned away, rubbing his jaw as he sighed. "You're staying here until you've calmed down."

"It makes no difference whether I calm down or not. I'm still a prisoner anyway." She managed to croak out, her voice raw and hoarse from her previous shouting. Her necklace…She'd thought that with all the crap that had happened, she'd at least still have that without feeling guilty, but no.

"Of course you're not a prisoner, Tanith. I'm just trying to protect you. Because I love you, don't you see? I love you with everything I have."

Her head slumped against the wall as she curled her legs under her. "Then go."

Ghastly sighed again and made for the door, closing it behind him. Tanith waited a few seconds before springing up and turning the handle, only to find it locked – of course. Muttering curses under her breath, she placed her hand against it and forced all of her magic into it. There was always the possibility that the room _hadn't _been bound and she was just considerably weaker due to her operation…

She heard a click and blinked. She honestly hadn't expected that to be the case. Breathing rapidly, she quietly turned the handle again, to have the door open a crack. Tanith felt her heart leap as she risked glancing out; no one seemed to be about keeping guard or anything. This was it. This was her chance to taste even a _little _bit of freedom. But where could she go? Who would talk and listen to her?

Fletcher wouldn't give her the time of day, she knew that. She'd had plenty nightmares about him and his girlfriend already, which she assumed to be true. Sanguine wouldn't want to see her, not after the previous night. So who did that leave? Clarabelle?

Tanith shrugged to herself. Clarabelle would do.

She opened the door a little further, took a deep breath, and finally ventured out.


	10. Keep Her Away

**So I spent ages on this chapter and I'm STILL not happy with it (but to be honest, I haven't really been happy with anything for ages, hahaa). School is getting me down with all my GCSEs and I'm actually moving to Switzerland in summer because of my dad's job, so there's all that stress of leaving my friends and the new school and HOW WILL I GET MY SKULDUGGERY BOOKS ASAP…**

**Also, totally sobbed at the ending of A Very Potter Senior Year. No shame. **

**So please leave a review to tell me what you thought, I could do with cheering up :') Love you Skuttlebugs! **

Wednesday was one of those days were people just had to get along, or else. It was like some sort of unspoken rule; if you'd made it halfway through another week, put on a smile and act nice. Show the world you're happy to be alive. A bit of a mean feat for Vaurien Scapegrace, but as far as he was concerned, he w_as _lucky to be here and not curled up dead in an alleyway, so he usually did make some attempt.

So today, on this so-called 'Happy Wednesday' he was sitting in the Medical Bay with Clarabelle, Thrasher and Sanguine, playing their weekly game of cards which helped pass the time and crippling boredom. Even though Thrasher hated him, and Scapegrace hated Sanguine, and they all _sucked _at any card game, they'd still kept up this tradition for the best part of a year, so why break it now?

"Uh…" Clarabelle wrinkled her nose before placing down a card. "King of Hearts."

Thrasher glanced up from where he'd been sitting broodingly staring into space, running a hand through his dark hair. "I can't play."

"Sucks to be you." Clarabelle said cheerfully, reclining back in her chair. "So, boys, how's your day been?"

Sanguine didn't answer for a long time, before moodily stating, "I kind of want to punch every last person in this damn place. They're engaged, did you know that? They're engaged."

"Who? Tanith and Ghastly? Are they really?" Thrasher looked suddenly interested. Scapegrace wanted nothing more than to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. What an idiot. What an absolute idiot – Rule Number 1 when confronted with this psycho was to _not _engage in any sort of conversation which mentioned Tanith Low.

"Yeah. Ain't that nice? Ain't it nice how after all this time, it only takes one day to get engaged since they've been separated?"

"I…I suppose that _is_ kind of nice." Thrasher admitted with a slight shrug as Scapegrace and Clarabelle stared at the ceiling, inwardly cringing.

"No, you fuckin' idiot!" Sanguine yelled, slamming his fist on the table, making them all jump. "No! The whole point is that it's _stupid_! It's _insane_! It ain't what she even wants!"

"H-hey!" Scapegrace snapped, his damn stutter making a reappearance. He thought he'd gotten over that by now, but nope. His crippling PTSD was hitting home, but he still persevered. "There's n-no need t-to have a m-meltdown, Tex."

Thrasher didn't even seem to care that he'd stuck up for him, or that he was stuttering again. "I still don't see the issue. Ghastly Bespoke can do much better, anyway."

"Are you nuts? There _ain't _no one better than Tanith Low."

Thrasher shrugged again. "I wouldn't know. I like guys."

"Even so, you ain't _blind. _What am I gonna do? How can I get her to realise it's a mistake?"

"You can't. If that's what she wants, so be it. And hey, even if it isn't what she wants, that man isn't going to let her go."

"He has a point." Clarabelle piped up. "I mean, she's been stuck in that room since they got the remnant out of her, poor thing."

"D-don't call her that. Don't _p-pity _her." Scapegrace snapped, trying to calm his breathing down to form a coherent sentence. "Even before the remnant, she was a bitch."

"Exactly," Sanguine breathed out, "she was always my kinda woman."

"Yeah, you've always been one-track minded like that." Scapegrace murmured and Clarabelle quickly jumped in before he got slaughtered.

"Um, so, Gerald! How's it going with that new guy?"

Scapegrace stiffened, focusing on the cards in his hands despite the fact no one was really playing any more. A few months ago a man had been brought in, injured, to the Barricade. It had been one of those rare days when he and Thrasher could talk briefly to each other without snapping, and they'd seen a few people drag this poor guy off to the Medical Bay.

Thrasher had turned to Scapegrace and had nodded. "My gaydar is tingling."

"Him? No way."

"Trust me, he's on our team. Did you see his body? No straight guy would take that much time working on his physique."

"You're so full of shit. Besides, even if he _was _gay, which I'm pretty sure he isn't, who says he'd like you?"

Thrasher had smirked. He hadn't even needed to gesture at himself to put his point across. "Oh, Scapegrace. Please."

Scapegrace had felt his face flush. "Alright, then. Work your magic on him, you idiot. It'll never work, on account of the fact that he likes women."

"Yeah? Watch this space." Thrasher suddenly seemed to come to the realisation that he was actually _talking _to him, and immediately turned away, all traces of civility gone. "Well. See you around."

"It's inevitable." Scapegrace admitted, "Much to your chagrin, I'm sure."

He cracked a small smile. "What can you do?" And with that, he had walked away, as if he had never been there.

Back in the present time, Scapegrace glanced back up as Thrasher sighed.

"Non-existent." He said glumly, "Especially now."

At this, Scapegrace grinned. "I was right. I was, wasn't I? That guy was as straight as they come!"

Thrasher glowered. "Fine. You were right. And when he realised I was gay he practically had a cardiac arrest."

Sanguine frowned from behind his sunglasses. "What, he didn't guess sooner?"

"I'm more surprised than you, believe me. I thought I was being completely obvious. Apparently not." He sighed again, heavily. "And he thought I'd been trying it on with him all this time and freaked out."

"Well," Scapegrace couldn't help but point out, "You kind of _had _been trying it on with him."

"No," he insisted, "No, because I made sure – you know, I didn't _want _to scare him off!"

"Aw, Gerald." Clarabelle looked genuinely concerned. "Are you in love?"

He sat back in his chair miserably. "I'm assuming so, because I just want to curl up and die."

Sanguine glanced at Clarabelle with a raised eyebrow. "Who'd'a thought it? Ol' Thrasher's really got it bad for that Mitchell guy."

"Well. He is a very handsome man." Clarabelle murmured back, averting her eyes quickly from his face.

"Not _that _handsome." Scapegrace grouchily spoke up again and this time everyone looked at him.

"Somethin' you wanna add there, Zombie?" Sanguine spoke with a smirk and Scapegrace looked up sharply.

"I haven't been undead for the best of six years, thanks. You know, seeing as you were basically responsible for the whole miserable affair."

"Ah, yeah, good times. Weren't they good times?"

Thrasher looked at him. "My intestines kept falling out."

"Yeah, man, I remember." Sanguine wrinkled his nose. "But hey, if ya hadn't been all dead an' whatever, you'd never be sittin' here playin' cards with us. So...bright side."

"The side's not that bright." Thrasher murmured and Clarabelle threw one of her cards at him.

"Gosh, Gerald, you're so _moody!_"

"I didn't mean that about _you, _Ding. I love _you_."

"By Christ," Scapegrace interrupted – yet again – "between this straight guy and Clarabelle, you're something of a player."

Thrasher turned to face him, his face a mixture of frustration and irritation, if that was possible. "Scapegrace, I have no chance with that guy at all, and you can stop rubbing it in."

"I'm rubbing nothing in."

"Just because he's hot and nice, and a military man – everything you're not –"

Scapegrace slammed his cards down on the table, oblivious to the fact that everyone was now obliged to cheat. "I was in the War. I'm in the bloody army right _now."_

"Do you want a medal?" Gerald snapped back.

"And, what, I'm not good looking? I am now, anyway."

"Your scar's healing up nicely." Clarabelle offered hesitantly, but her words were drowned out by Thrasher's next sentence.

"Fine. But you'll never be a nice person."

Clarabelle inhaled sharply at the look of fury on both of her friend's faces. She'd never seen them like this – sure, they'd been _bad, _but nothing like what she was witnessing.

"You know," Scapegrace eventually spoke up, "a few years ago, you'd never have spoken like that."

"Good thing I'm not that person anymore, then."

"I don't even know who you are. You're just...like this random guy. A random _dick, _actually. You're such a dick!" He stood up, looking furious, but then the door to the Medical Bay burst open and a bedraggled young woman burst in.

"He took my necklace, Clarabelle, he took my fucking –" Tanith Low stopped in her tracks, looking horrified as she took in the scene. "Oh."

"Hello," Clarabelle eventually said as everyone else stared at Tanith in surprise, "It's Wednesday. Wednesday's card night. You're welcome to play. Who took your necklace?"

"It…You know what, it doesn't matter." Tanith muttered, her gaze fixated on the floor, her face flushing.

"Oh, ok." Clarabelle said indifferently, "Does Ghastly know you're here?"

"'Course he don't." Sanguine sneered, "Look at her. She's on a little escapade, ain't ya?"

Tanith's eyes snapped up again to glare at him. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I am. So, you hang out with each other often? Who are the hot guys?"

Scapegrace realised she was referring to him and Thrasher and could've laughed. Of course. The last time he'd seen this bitch was when he'd been in that other body, that female one. He wondered if she remembered, then decided it probably wouldn't be wise to bring it up. Instead he sat back down with a shrug, gesturing for Clarabelle to explain.

"That's Scapey and Gerald." The blue haired young woman smiled. "You know Vaurien Scapegrace, right?"

Tanith blinked and then suddenly snorted with laughter. "What? The – the zombies?"

"Yep." Thrasher raised his hand. "The very same. Even though we haven't been zombies for quite a while now, but it's good to know we're remembered."

"And now we're perfectly capable of kicking you out. Which we will." Scapegrace looked at her scathingly and she seemed to recoil at the intensity of his glare. "We don't want you here. Nobody wants you here."

The blonde woman averted her eyes in Sanguine's direction, but he didn't even speak up for her. Instead, he leant back in his chair and folded his arms, seemingly enjoying the show.

"Don't be horrible, Scapey." Clarabelle scolded, jumping out of her chair to approach Tanith. "I think it's lovely you came to visit. Why don't we go through to another room and you can tell me about your necklace?"

"Hey," Sanguine suddenly spoke up, scowling as he realised what was wrong, "that scarred freak took the necklace _I _gave you?"

Tanith turned to face him, her face holding a mix of emotions. "Yes. I – I screamed at him."

"Pity," the Texan drawled, looking away again, "I'd've liked to get it back for myself so I could give it to one of 'em whores down the Barricade and gotten some fun for free."

Tanith's eyes were beginning to fill up and Clarabelle gently took her by the arm, leading her along. "Oh, ignore him," she advised, then added in a murmur, "he misses you like mad. You're all he talks about."

"Yeah?" Tanith hissed back. "Well screw him. I love Ghastly. I've chosen Ghastly. You can tell him that."

Clarabelle looked at her, then shrugged uneasily. "Ok."

"And don't look at me like that! God, you're so annoying, the lot of you! To think, I actually came outside to visit _you_, of all people, because I was so desperate for conversation! I should've fucking stayed in bed!" Her voice was beginning to rise and Clarabelle hastily let go of her arm.

"Ssh! People will hear you, and that's the last thing –"

"Shut UP!" Tanith shrieked, and her hand flew out as if it had a mind of its own, whacking Clarabelle full across the face. The petite woman fell back, clutching the left side of her face with widened eyes, like a startled deer. Tanith stared in bewilderment at the sight, then back at her own hand as if she couldn't quite piece it together.

The world suddenly came crashing back into focus and the handsome man was there, Gerald or something, forcefully shoving her away. "Remnant scum! Get the hell out of here!"

"I have a gun," The other one – was that really Vaurien? – had also appeared, and was pointing a pretty scary looking weapon at her. "And I'll goddamn shoot you if I have to. Stay away from us, because I am _so _close to pulling this trigger."

"Hey," Clarabelle mumbled as Gerald helped her to her feet, her face throbbing, "s'ok…"

"No it isn't. Never trust a remnant, especially a remnant _whore." _Scapegrace snarled, jamming the barrel of the gun against Tanith's chest. "Get out of here! And don't think you'll be getting away with this either; I'm an army man now, motherfucker!"

Tanith stumbled back, bile beginning to creep up her throat as she wretched, her hands over her mouth in terror at what she'd done. "Didn't…didn't mean to…Sanguine…"

Sanguine was standing in the doorway, not contributing anything to the discussion. She met his gaze and he gave a small shake of his head, before turning away and retreating back inside.

"Clarabelle, I never meant to…I don't know what came over me!"

"TANITH! Tanith, what the hell are you doing?" Ghastly's voice shattered through the night as he ran up to them, gripping onto her shoulders, "Get away, everyone!" He snapped. Scapegrace looked at him silently before lowering his gun and storming away, grabbing Clarabelle as he did so. Gerald spat at Tanith's feet before following and her eyes filled up again as Ghastly's grip tightened.

"What're you doing? You've endangered yourself, Tanith, don't you see?"

"They hate me."

"No. They just don't know you." He assured her, stroking her hair from her face, then sighed regretfully. "And I'm beginning to think I don't either. Honestly, why would you leave the room? When you know how dangerous it is out here?"

She simply shrugged, her tongue heavy in her mouth. "I don't care. Ghastly, I'm going stir crazy. I want to get some sort of life back, and as my future husband, you need to understand that."

Ghastly sighed again, parting from her so he could see her properly, cracking a small smile. "Well," He murmured, "I might have an idea. I'll see what I can do."

** A/N: I didn't proof-read this as thoroughly as I'd have liked, so if there are any glaring typos, please point them out and I'll fix it (: **

**EDIT: Thank you to KasumiCain for pointing out that I put 'Sanguine' instead of 'Ghastly' at the beginning of the chapter! It's been fixed. **


	11. Darquesse's Plan

**FINALLY, I've found time to update! My exams are nearly over and it's amazing the effect it's had on my mood, haha! Anyway, the plot is beginning to get back to what I had originally intended, which is lucky on my part because I was worried I was getting completely off track…**

**Oh, also, I'm currently writing a Quirrellmort fanfic for any A Very Potter Musical fans out there, if any of you want to check it out! :D **

**Big thanks to all my lovely, lovely reviewers and readers! **

**Warning: Swearing, sexual references (kind of…they're mild) and just the usual kind of angst. **

The following day was surprisingly warm and Gerald – formerly known as Thrasher – woke up to find his ankle was completely fixed. He'd been taking pills to reduce its pain, which was how he'd been able to walk briefly with only a little discomfort, but now he looked cured; no cast or pain or _anything. _

He swung his legs out of the Medical Bay's bed, grinning as he gingerly tested it on the floor. Myra, from the bed opposite his, smiled encouragingly.

"That creepy doctor did it last night." Her voice was still broken and strained, but there was a little sparkle in her eyes that seemed to be her old self fighting to get to the surface. "Probably thanks to your friend punching your boss. God, that was cool!"

"Cool?" Gerald huffed, feeling irritated even at the memory, "Nearly lost me everything I had. Still, I can get back today, right?"

"I think so. You'll have to ask. But don't stress yourself out, I'm sure your boss will be fine if you're off for a few more days –"

"Are you joking? You've seen him for yourself." He made a slicing motion with his hand across his neck. "I'm screwed enough as it is. No, I need to get out there." He was already out of the bed at this point, searching for his jacket. "What time is it?"

"Seven."

"Ok. That's not too bad, I guess. I – oh, hey, Ding." Clarabelle had emerged from the back room, yawning and holding a glass of water. One side of her face was still red from the Remnant's slap, but she seemed pretty oblivious.

"Hi, Gerald," She said sleepily, rubbing her forehead. "What're you doing up so early?"

"Going to work. Dr. Nye fixed my ankle."

"To work? That's nice. I should probably start working too." Clarabelle admitted, swallowing the last of her water, then pulled a face. "Oh, I think that liquid was for cleaning wounds, not drinking. Never mind. Hello, Myra!"

"What happened to your face?" Myra exclaimed, crawling to the foot of the bed for further examination.

"Oh!" Clarabelle gingerly felt her cheek. "It was nothing. Tanith Low just made a mistake, that's all. She's very sorry."

"No, she's crazy. You stay away from her, ok?" Gerald warned, zipping up his jacket, "I'm off."

"Have a good time," Clarabelle said breezily as she watched him leave, then turned back to Myra. "I'm not sure what's been up with Tanith lately, to be honest."

"Don't go near her." Myra whispered urgently, her pale face stricken and her sunken eyes widening. "She'll hurt you. She'll keep coming back and she'll never ever go away. She'll hurt the people you love."

"Oh, no! No, I knew Tanith before, and the remnant made her do all of those –"

"She killed my family." Myra hissed, and Clarabelle realised that she was beginning to claw at her arms, causing droplets of blood to break free from her skin and stain the white sheets. "All _dead. _Because of _her!"_

The young woman rushed over hastily, grabbing Myra's hands. "Myra! Myra, look at me. Please don't hurt yourself like that. It's going to be –"

"Myra? Myra, stop!" Fletcher had appeared in the doorway of the Medical Bay and was rushing over. Clarabelle stood back as Myra's boyfriend gently held her hands and sat on the edge of the bed, kissing her cheek. "It's ok. I'm here. You don't need to hurt yourself."

"Fletcher," she whispered, "Fletcher, I'm scared."

"I know," He murmured back, "I'm here now. It's alright."

"Tanith's here. She's going to come for me. She'll hurt you."

"No, she won't. She's being kept locked up at all times, remember? No one trusts her, not even Ghastly. Anyway, I'm an army man now, gorgeous. I'll defend you."

Myra smiled slowly, a sparkle seeming to return to her deadened eyes as she snuggled against him. "My hero." She managed with a small giggle and Fletcher grinned back, wrapping an arm around her frail shoulders.

"See? I'll always protect you. Besides, you have nothing to worry about; who in their right minds would let Tanith Low out of custody?"

XxX

"New worker?" Ferr snapped, looking at Tanith up and down disapprovingly. "Ain't that the remnant, Bespoke? The hell do I want with a remnant?"

Tanith blushed as Ghastly put an arm around her, staring at her shoes. They were standing in the wonderful outdoors and it was so nice to feel the faint sun on her skin and see other people around her. Even if the world was so damaged and - quite honestly - terrifying, it was comforting to know that people had made it this far and were sticking together.

"She isn't a remnant." Ghastly said briskly, "Her name is Tanith and she's been cured, as you well know. And I'd prefer it if you called me _Elder _Bespoke, if you don't mind. Good to have some kind of authority around here, after all."

Ferr glared at Tanith, clearly mulling it over. The other workers were beginning to take notice of the situation; a few were whispering and pointing at her. With a jolt, she realised Sanguine and that Gerald guy were standing nearby, watching her too. She hadn't realised _they_ were workers as well…Shit…

"You strong?" Ferr barked suddenly and she jumped.

"Uh, yeah." She cleared her throat, "Strong, fast, reliable. Everything you want here, I'm guessing."

"Hmph. This ain't a free ride though, kid. It's just hard graft. Lifting, building –"

"That's alright." Tanith said in relief, "I'll be fine. Seems pretty easy stuff."

Workers around her laughed mockingly and she hesitated, fidgeting under their condescending glares. Ferr simply grinned slowly and nodded. "Easy stuff, huh? Welcome aboard. You'd best get started right away and show those lot how it's done."

Ghastly smiled at her encouragingly and pulled her into a hug, whispering in her ear. "This'll be good for you. And don't worry about Sanguine. I gave your new boss permission to hurt him if he goes anywhere near you. Alright?"

She bit her lip and simply nodded against him as they parted, turning back to the rest of the workers. Gerald made a slicing motion across his neck and grinned at Sanguine, who smirked back. She blushed, following Ferr hurriedly towards a large basket filled with heavy looking stones and he simply gestured.

"We're building a new army centre. Gotta carry this lot to the other side of the Barricade. Shouldn't be a problem for such a strong, fast and reliable person like you, remnant."

"You're right." She replied stiffly, "No problem at all."

A few hours later she realised why people had been laughing at her for her confidence. This was _hell. _You never got any time to rest, either. All she'd done for the past two hours was carry heavy baskets of rocks and her arm muscles and lower back were aching.

She dropped the latest load she'd been carrying and wiped her brow, thankful she was wearing a simple grey outfit instead of her leather. Come to think of it, she had no idea where her favourite item of clothing had even got to. Ghastly had probably burnt it.

Sanguine walked past her and she stiffened, hesitating for only a split second before hurrying after him. "Hey. Hello." She struggled to keep up as she painted a smile on her face. "This is pretty tough, right? How long have you been doing this for?"

He stopped walking and looked at her with a scowl. "Why're you talkin' to me?"

"Uh." She stopped too and shrugged after a few moments uneasily. "Well, seeing as I'm working here too now, I just thought…We might as well try to get along. We know each other, after all, don't we?"

"I knew the _old _you." He replied simply, "I don't know Bespoke's future wife, doll. We ain't meant to be seen with each other, anyway. You want me to get sent to the cell house?"

"There's a cell house here?"

"Yep. And I'm gonna get a one way ticket there if you keep hangin' around. Look, you're out that room an' that's all grand, but don't think you can come talkin' to me, alright? I don't even want you to. I don't want anythin' to do with you. Got it?" Without another he word, he turned and proceeded to walk away leaving her standing there dejectedly.

"Fine!" She snapped at his retreating back. "I don't want anything to do with _you_, either!"

He just stuck up his middle finger without even looking back. She swore under her breath, humiliated beyond belief, before turning away to lift up the next basket. It was then that a sharp pain exploded in her skull and she gasped, clutching her head. She knew this feeling all too well – Darquesse was trying to communicate with her. She dropped onto the ground, trying to hide herself from view behind the barrel as she desperately rummaged in her pocket for her pad and pencil in the hope to write down any more of Darquesse's plans which she'd be able to pass on to the authorities.

_"Kill them all, burn them all, but not yet, not yet…"_

Tanith's eyes were watering from the pain, but she persisted, scribbling feverishly in raggedy handwriting.

_"No, not yet…First I teach them a lesson for taking Tanith away from – get Fletcher, bring Fletcher to me, see how they survive without their Teleporter –"_

Tanith cried out as the pain in her head reached new heights, then crumpled in relief as it slowly but surely began to ebb away, her connection with Darquesse broken. She glanced down at her notepad, deciphering her own writing and inhaling sharply when she'd taken everything in. Fletcher? Valk – _Darquesse _was going to get Fletcher?

"Well, what do we have here, Remnant?" A feminine voice purred and Tanith glanced up sharply to see the goading smirk of this random bitch who'd been firing insults at her all day. What was her name…Susan? Sarah? Tanith betted on Susan. And from what Tanith could tell, she really had it in for her.

"Nothing," Tanith shot back, hurriedly standing up and making to stuff the note in her pocket, when Susan's hand shot out and snatched it from her grip. "Hey! Give me that!"

Susan's eyes had widened in shock as she read Tanith's messages and her face paled considerably. "I _knew _it! I knew you were still a no good, Darquesse loving _skank! _Hey! Hey, Boss!"

"No, no, wait!" Tanith attempted to snatch it back. "You've got it wrong, I'm _helping _you!"

"Boss! The remnant's spying on us for Darquesse! Look!"

"For the love of –" Tanith growled, raking her hands through her hair in agitation as Ferr immediately approached. "I can explain!"

"Look, sir, here's the proof!" Susan hissed, showing Ferr the note, "She's plotting against us! Get her out of here!"

Ferr's eyes skimmed over the note and he glanced back up at Tanith murderously.

"Hey, listen, I can _explain!" _Tanith said in frustration as he gripped onto her arm.

"Yeah, I think you'd better. Come on, with me. Inside."

"Get your hands off me! I've done nothing wrong! Let _go!" _She attempted to wrench her arm away, which just made her slightly insane boss grip on tighter. Workers were beginning to stop what they were doing to take in the scene which made her want to _really _hurt this guy. He simply shoved her into one of the shacks which she guessed he owned, while that bitch Susan scurried in after them.

"It's proof that she's been talking to Darquesse! Kick her out! Send the army on her! She's dangerous!"

"Why don't you shut your mouth?" Tanith fumed, before glancing back at Ferr. "Ok. Ok, yes, Darquesse communicates with me. But I have no control over it! And…I figured, it would be helpful to everyone here if I wrote down her ideas, so –"

"So you could act on them?" Susan goaded, causing Ferr to growl menacingly.

"No! So I could show the people in charge here what her plans are, and then we could prevent them! Don't you understand? I'm only trying to help you!"

Ferr glanced down at the notes again and barked, "Who's Fletcher Renn?"

"The new Teleporter that recently arrived with his girlfriend, Sir." Susan informed him, glaring at Tanith who was beginning to feel rather sick at the idea of getting fired after only one day. "He used to go out with that Valkyrie Cain before she turned into the World Breaker."

"Right. So our little remnant here is caught up in this. Sounds like trouble to me, and I don't need it." He scrunched up the note furiously. "Get out."

Tanith blinked. "What? But I explained –"

"We never even wanted your kind here. Get the hell out before I throw you out!"

She squared up to him defiantly. "I _need _this job. I need some sense of normality. Ghastly will –"

"Bespoke'll be thrilled that you're back under his lock and key, Remnant." He gripped onto her arms, shoving her backwards out of the door.

"Get off! Get OFF! For the love of God, I'm helping you! _I'm _not the monster, Darquesse is!" She roared as he gave her one last forceful push outdoors and she went sprawling, landing painfully on her front and skinning both of her hands and knees. She glanced back up desperately as Ferr threw the scrunched up note at her face and spat at her. Tanith cringed, feeling her body begin to shake from humiliation and shock as she wiped at her eyes which were suspiciously stinging. God, what a wuss she'd turned into it.

She scrambled back to her feet as some of the workers began to laugh at her, and then there was Sanguine, that fucking Sanguine, who stood there and shook his head at her as if she was something to be pitied. She glared at them all until they retreated and returned to their work, before turning around and storming away.

Now what was she supposed to do? No job. No hope. Only Ghastly to return to, who would sigh and act sympathetic, but would also be extremely all-knowing and tell her how she should've known better than to go back out into the public…

She was so busy wallowing in her misery that she didn't realise where she'd stumbled across. She glanced up sharply at the sound of women's voices and noticed she was standing in the foot of an alley nestled between a cluster of shacks and tents. Tanith could see a bunch of young-looking girls dressed in revealing outfits who were chatting up men, then realised what was going on. She'd found herself a whore-house of sorts. Wasn't that fantastic?

Tanith began to back away when she bumped into someone and turned sharply to find Scapegrace, who looked distinctly unimpressed. His gun was slung across his back and she saw ugly scars on his arms as he gestured. "I didn't know you were into prostitutes, Miss Low."

She blushed furiously in anger. "Don't be stupid. I got lost. What're _you _doing here?"

"I'm not planning on adding money to their pockets, if that's what you're thinking, lady. I don't swing that way. I saw you get kicked out of your job, and after laughing, I followed you when I realised you weren't heading in such a nice direction. This is what's known as the Black District, and you're going to run into a few enemies over here."

"You mean more than I have already?"

"Exactly. So you might want to come with me out of here."

She looked at him witheringly, then decided her options overall weren't too great, so she gave him a grudging nod. She had just begun to follow him when a scruffy looking woman in a red dress approached, smiling in what she probably assumed was a sultry way.

"You're a soldier boy, ain't you?" She purred, practically shoving Tanith out of the way as she addressed Scapegrace.

"Yeah, and as queer as a rainbow. Please can you move? Thanks."

Tanith managed a half-smile as they walked onwards. "Seriously? When did you come up with _that _line?"

"Literally two seconds ago. Admittedly not my finest. Come on, keep up."

"Where're we going?"

"Back to Ghastly Bespoke."

She stopped abruptly, her smile replaced with a scowl. "Oh, not you too! Fuck _off!"_

"Excuse me?"

"I can't. Not now. I…I've just been fired from basically the only chance I had at freedom. And that's where you want me to go? Back to those four walls where I can sit by myself and hear Ghastly tell me just how much he loves me, every hour of every day?" She gave a short, hysterical laugh. "No! No, I'm sorry, but there's no way."

"Alright, then." He shrugged off her outburst, and she had to give him credit for being so remarkably calm. "Where _do _you want to go then, Remnant?"

She glanced around weakly at their surroundings, before looking back at him. "Hey. Is there anywhere to get drunk?"

He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it almost absent-mindedly. "Just so happens, yes. I know the perfect place, where a lot of people are _dying _to be reacquainted with you."

**And the plot thickens…**

**Please review guys! :D **


	12. Trip Down Memory Lane

**Note: Spoilers for the Maleficent Seven in this chapter, as it features Sabine! Jack as well, because I'm in complete denial about him, so let's just forget THAT scene in the book ever happened to him.**

**And this is where the story goes into a more M rating, I guess. Mentions of self-harming here, which may be disturbing to read for some people, so if it is, I apologise! **

**Also, I'm so gutted I missed Derek in Leeds on Saturday! I was THERE, but seeing the Rocky Horror Show instead (which admittedly was fantastic, but still). Did anyone go see Derek? What was it like? :D I WILL meet him one day, god dammit! **

"I really am impressed, you know." Tanith mused as the two of them walked side by side.

"Yeah? About what?"

"You. How you've turned out. Into this hot badass who smokes."

"Oh." Scapegrace nodded absent-mindedly. "Funny how life turns out. Never try a cigarette, kid, they're very bad for you."

She glowered at him. "Nope, deep down you're still the pathetic, big-headed _idiot _who thinks he's better than everyone."

"That's an interesting way of looking at it." He said, throwing the cigarette away and grinding his heel on it.

"And just for the record," Tanith continued smoothly, "you might want to tell someone about that self-harming issue of yours."

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes drawn to his arms where he'd stupidly forgotten to roll down his sleeves after training. His pale, ugly scars slashed across his wrists and forearms were visible for everyone to see; he hastily yanked down his sleeves, his face stony.

"You might want to shut yourself up, Remnant." He managed to snap back, but it was already too late – fragments of memory were piercing his head and –

_Dark. Looking into the mirror. Stupid girl's body, stupid girl's face, stupid everything, it was all fucking stupid…_

_Shrieking and smashing the mirror, again and again. The odd sensation of blood running down arms, the skin pierced. A shard of glass being snatched up and pressed into the skin even further. The pain was almost good, almost elating, allowing all the self-loathing to be poured out. Slow, deep breathes, in and out, in and out, the blood staining the floor. But that was ok. It would all be ok eventually, and soon Darquesse would die or something and Thrasher would be out of the hospital and Vaurien would find a new body. Normal business would be resumed. In the meantime, the pain, the dull, throbbing pain in both wrists would serve as a reminder that all was not lost. As long as pain was still available, it meant there was still life, and everything would be ok…_

"It's a good thing I've noticed," Tanith continued airily, "I mean, how long have you been doing that? They say _I _need help. Do they even know how screwed up you still are?"

"Shut _up." _He was beginning to hyperventilate. This wasn't good.

"Are you having a panic attack?"

"I think so." He bent over, struggling to get his breathing under control. "Just – stop – _talking."_

She sarcastically mimed zipping her lips and he gradually began to calm down, straightening up again. "You're wrong."

She snorted. "I'm not an idiot."

"Maybe not. But you're still wrong about me self-harming." He lied. "The scars came with the body. It's nothing to do with me."

Tanith's face seemed to soften for a moment. "Why don't you just get help?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes. I do. Someone I once knew didn't tell anyone either and ended up committing suicide."

"I'm not – I won't do that." He blurted out, then growled in frustration. "Look, it's really none of your business. Fine, yes, I cut myself. Are you satisfied? Are you going to tell everyone?"

"No." She replied shortly. "I just think it would be good if you talked, that's all."

"Thank you, Dr. Low." He responded grouchily, "Now please, as you're being such a help, why don't you suggest who I talk _to?"_

"That's a very good point. People around here suck, don't they?"

"They do. They really do."

"They don't _know _you. They think they do, but they don't. I'm not a remnant. I had a remnant _in _me, sure, but at the moment I'm a very confused and not entirely sane woman. There's a difference."

"Oh my God," He snapped his fingers repeatedly, trying to word his response in his head. "Yes! Only it's the opposite for me. No one actually knows that I'm a gay, self-harming loser who used to be a zombie and an all-around failure – they think I'm either something special or that I deserve to be treated with respect."

"Oh, man. Don't be so hard on yourself. Here, I'm someone with no connections anymore, apart from Ghastly. No one wants to give me the time of day, not even you, really. So why don't you talk to me about…" She gestured towards his now covered up wrists. "You shouldn't be ashamed."

"It's so stupid, though. It wouldn't make any sense to you. And I can't have people knowing, it…My friend, the one who used to be a zombie too, you know him?"

"The hot one? The one who's even hotter than you?"

"Uh. Yes."

"The one who spat at me and called me a whore because I slapped Clarabelle? Which, by the way, I'm really sorry for."

"Tell her that yourself. I think she's over it, if she ever had an issue with it in the first place. But yeah, that's the guy. Well, if he knew, I think I'd die of embarrassment. It's like – I screwed up, as usual, only this time he nearly died a-a-and –" Stutter was back. Woop. And his breathing was getting raunchy again, as if something was squeezing his throat. "I'm so full of self-loathing, p-practically all the time. I d-despise myself. And when it gets so b-bad, you know, you feel so worthless…You need to take your f-frustrations out, so I do it on myself."

"Even though you know it won't do any good?"

"I know that. I can't stop. I tried. I started when my friend was in h-hospital, during the early stages of Darquesse coming into p-power when I was in a d-different body. When I g-got this one I thought I had a new chance. But he hates me, my friend, because he doesn't understand. I h-had to send him away, or he would've died from pneumonia, but he thought – and I – I don't know how long I can do this for." He finished in a rush and felt his face burn from embarrassment. He really hadn't intended to say so much.

"Oh, Jesus. That's way too overwhelming for a Thursday. Where can we get drunk together?"

"Right. Sorry, I – come on, follow me."

"So, technically, you _are _suicidal." She managed to say as she hurried to match his pace, "Aren't you?"

He frowned to himself. "I guess so. I don't see the point of life anymore, so - Well, _this_ sucks."

"I think if you told your hot friend –"

"No. _No_. Not happening. Shut up."

"But –"

"Remnant, I told you to shut _up_."

Her anger flared. "Don't call me that! Haven't I told you? My name is _Tanith!"_

"I shouldn't even be talking to you, not after the things you've done."

"The things I did were none of your _business! _You weren't even _involved!" _She stopped her rant when she saw his unimpressed face and hesitated. "Oh, shit, what did I do?"

He smiled slightly. "Well, if you don't remember, no point in telling you. How about we shake hands and I say I'm over it?"

"I'm so confused." She mumbled, but grudgingly shook his hand anyway. "Um, if it…if it helps, I'm sorry."

"Thank you. You do owe me some money, though."

She blinked at him. "I don't have any money."

"That was a joke. I don't need it anymore, anyway."

"Did I – you can tell me what I did, I can take it."

"I don't doubt that you can, but here's the thing; _I _can't." He pointed at a large building, made from the usual wood that everything else here was. "Behold. The place where we get drunk."

"There won't be people I _know _in there, right?" She said anxiously as they walked up together. "Like Ravel or Ghastly –"

"Oh, God, no. _That_ type don't come here. Jack wouldn't let them in."

Tanith slowed, a mixture of dread and apprehension beginning to stir in her stomach. "Jack?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot. There _are _a couple of people here that you know." Scapegrace beamed, kicking open the doors to the building. "Such as the owner, Springheeled Jack! It'll be _just _like old times. Fun had by all."

"Oh my God," She hissed, glancing behind her before following him inside, "I'm going to _kill _you."

XxX

Sabine had heard – after all, who _hadn't – _about Tanith Low's return. It had first filled her with some sort of amazement, then dread, and finally cold-blooded anger. She hadn't been able to sleep or eat properly since she'd found out. She'd taken to pacing up and down in her room above the bar, until the others who she boarded with had yelled at her to piss off outside. Not that she'd taken any notice. She'd gone over to Jack's bed – he was usually awake at night too, a little metal device attached around his wrist, binding his magic to prevent him from springing anymore. The Elders, the people who ran this sad excuse of a rebellion, had also cut his sharp nails off the moment he'd been found, so he was no longer a potential threat. He'd had his most of his hair shaved off too, and now that a year had passed it had grown back so it was a tufty, light brown. It suited him.

"If Tanith sees us, what do you think she'll do?" Sabine had whispered. "I mean, she thinks I'm dead. Maybe she'll finish me off for good."

Jack glanced at her. "Are you worried, darlin'?"

She blushed. "No, I – I just want to _do _something to her. I hate that woman so much and now she's back, getting a chance at a whole new life –"

"Haven't we all, though? This Darquesse thing really _'as _made a lot of us revaluate our life options. Maybe this is all our new chance."

She wrinkled her nose. "It's not a very _good _new chance," she pointed out, "The majority of the world's _dead."_

"Very true." He lay back, one arm behind his head as he relaxed. "An' I'd much rather be out there springin' or leapin' on buildings, so I obviously ain't appreciatin' my new chance. Shoot me down an' call me a hypocrite."

She smiled, hugging her knees to her chest. "Hey, y'know how you pretty much run this building?"

"I do indeed."

"If she comes in here, do you…uh…give me permission to yell at her?"

"Sure, luv," He had mumbled, his eyes closing as he began to fall asleep, "do whatever the 'ell you want."

So now here she was, stood in the corner of the tavern, while the usual crowd where getting off their faces and Jack was busy giving them more alcohol, with Vaurien and Tanith Low on the premises. It was almost too good to be true. She smoothed down her dress, running her fingers through her hair, before immediately heading over.

"Hey, army boy!" She began, a smile plastered across her face, "Y'know, I was wondering when you'd bring my long lost friend over here! Tanith Low, hey, been a while!"

Tanith looked at her blankly before recognition struck and she inhaled sharply. "Sabine? Sabine, you're –"

"Yeah, baby, I'm still alive!" Sabine chuckled, her eyes malicious as she pointed at her scar which ran from her neck all the way down to her collarbone. "Barely, after that Chabon guy had his way with me, but I'm here! Ain't that great?"

Tanith cleared her throat. "Yes, yes it is. I'm – I'm really glad –"

Sabine stepped forward and shoved her forcefully back. "Aw, well, thank you. Now get the fuck off of my property."

_"Your _property?" Came a voice, as Jack landed beside her. "Since when's this place been _your_ property? 'Ello, Tanith."

Tanith blinked back, then looked at Scapegrace. "I'm out." She turned to go, but he gripped onto her arm.

"No. I want to talk to you about something important. Jack, Sabine, how are you? Would you mind putting your rage aside, just for half an hour or so?"

"What's your deal, Vaurien?" Sabin exclaimed, gesturing furiously, "Do you like Remnants all of a sudden? I want _payback."_

"Sure, and I won't stand in your way. In the meantime, do you have any vodka?"

Jack arched an eyebrow. "An' what do you 'ave?"

"Uh…" He dug into his pocket. "A lovely Swiss army knife. All yours to sell, or use for your own enjoyment. It has all the functions, even a miniature corkscrew."

"Mate, you never fail to amuse me. I don't know _why _you're hangin' out with that bitch, but be sure to drop by later and fill me in."

"Sure."

"'That bitch' is standing right here. And she can still kick your head in." Tanith growled, but Jack only laughed.

"Yeah, lovely, that's all grand. But the minute you're alone? I'll kill you."

"Oh, yeah?" She smirked, looking at his hands. "With what? I don't see your famous nails to cut my head off."

"Ok, alright." Scapegrace grabbed her again, shoving her towards a table and forcing her to sit down before Sabine pounced on her, and took a seat opposite her. "First thing's first, you don't annoy people in this District, unless you want to have an 'accident'. Secondly, if you want to get respect around here, you need to befriend a few of them."

"Like you, you mean?"

"I've known most of them for a long time. They may not remember, and they don't recognise me anymore with this body, but I still know them, even if they don't know me. You know what that gives me? The superior position."

A young girl came over and passed them their drinks. Her eyes met Tanith's and she squeaked, ducking her head down as she scurried off.

"Let me guess," Tanith said dryly, taking a long-needed gulp of alcohol. "I killed her grandma."

"Probably. Anyway, down to business. This is important; are you excited?"

She blinked at him dubiously. "What?"

"You're getting married in two days. Are you excited?"

"Oh, shit." She muttered, holding up her now-empty glass. "I need another one of these. Yes, I'm super excited. I can't wait."

"Great. Because he really is a good man, you know."

"Who, Sanguine?"

Scapegrace looked at her tiredly. "Ghastly Bespoke. The guy you're marrying. He's a good man."

"Oh, right, yeah. I know that." Tanith rolled her eyes, "Otherwise I wouldn't be marrying him. Not that I actually have much of a choice…"

"If you still want Sanguine, you need to stop this right now. Call it off. Bespoke shouldn't be led along."

"You talk such shit, mister." She clicked her fingers at the young girl. "Hey, this is good, vodka is good. Can I have some more? Oh, and beer too. I want beer." She turned back to Scapegrace, "You're paying, right? Anyway, I don't want Sanguine. Even if I did, he doesn't want me. He's made that pretty clear. Besides, what do _you _care about Ghastly's feelings?"

"I –"

"Are you after my fiancé?" Tanith gulped down her second vodka shot which had arrived, grimacing at the bitter taste. "He'd be flattered Vaurien, but he is _very_ much a straight man."

"I _know _that! Jesus Christ, that's not what I'm saying." Scapegrace sighed heavily, reaching for one of the beer bottles. "I just don't think it's fair on anyone if you're not completely dedicated to this marriage, that's all."

"Your concern is touching, it really is. Hey, I have a question for you now." She leant forward, already pretty drunk. "Do people shower around here? Because I have a shower in my place, and I don't think it's fair that others can't have that luxury. You know?"

He glanced upwards and muttered something to himself, before looking back at her. "Other people have showers, yes. The joys of living with Elementals who control water. Seriously, was that your question?"

She beamed at him, onto her fifth vodka shot. "I like this place. I think I'll come here every day. Pretend I'm going off to work and then get completely pissed."

"They'd find out sooner or later."

"So, hey, here's another thing," She spoke over him, "Does Sanguine talk about me?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't speak to him that much. You'd have to ask a worker."

"Can't you just ask your hot friend to tell you? He's a worker."

"Isn't it better you distanced yourself away from that guy?"

"Shut up, you. You don't know _anything." _She slurred. "Drink some more. You're so boring. Anyway, about that friend of yours, does he self-harm too?"

"Keep your voice down. And no, he doesn't. Not that I'm aware of, anyway."

"Really? 'Cause he's got these scars on his back, y'know? Really ugly." She gestured randomly, pulling a face. "Gotta be from somewhere."

"I think they're from his work." Scapegrace muttered, but after that discussion he appeared to knock back his alcohol a lot more.

They were both becoming so drunk that when Skulduggery Pleasant burst into the place, prising Tanith away from her chair they barely noticed or cared. Tanith blearily hit Skulduggery on the arm as she turned her head to grin at him.

"Hey, here's my skeleton," She slurred, "Have you missed me? I'm not a remnant anymore! Oh, oh, I have something to tell you…Fletcher…Uh, something to do with Fletcher. Gimme a minute…"

"Yes, good." Skulduggery said abruptly, "Well, I'm glad you're having fun, but we really must be going. You've led us all a merry dance, but it's time for you to go home."

"Home? Where's home?" She protested as he started dragging her towards the door. "I don't like it here. This place isn't my home."

"Unfortunately, Tanith, you'll have to get used to it. There isn't much of the world left."

"Because of Valkyrie and I, you mean."

"Because of Darquesse and the possessed you. Yes."

"You say it like the two of us just had separate personalities. We don't. We're killers and we deserve to die. You hear me?" She turned around to shout at the people in the bar before she was shoved out the door, "_We all deserve to die!" _

Skulduggery followed her out and Scapegrace took another sip of his drink, nodding in silent agreement with Tanith's statement, before Jack approached him.

"So. Care to explain what _that _was about?" The Terror of London asked sceptically. "You bein' buddies with Tanith Low now or what?"

"I don't even know myself." Scapegrace mumbled, slamming his glass down on the table.

"That mean you won't go runnin' to the Elders if we hurt her?"

"I'm drunk. I have no idea what you're even saying right now."

"Great. You stayin' over?"

Scapegrace shrugged. "Looks like it. I don't exactly have anywhere else to go."

"That's the spirit. Piss off upstairs, then. I don't want any more of _them_ lot comin' in here."

Scapegrace stumbled to his feet, the world spinning slightly. "They won't be back here," he managed to say, though he didn't know how coherent his speech actually was at this point, "I don't think we'll ever see Tanith Low again after tonight."

"Too right we won't." Jack grinned, before pointing upstairs in a gesture for Scapegrace to leave.

Seeing as he was far too drunk to understand the threat behind Jack's statement, he turned to go. When he eventually managed to get himself up the rickety stairs into the loft, he collapsed onto one of the mattresses, and slept a thankfully dreamless sleep.

**Next chapter will be Ghastly and Tanith's wedding and Darquesse's actions towards Fletcher. I know this wasn't overly exciting, and I'm sorry for the ridiculously long wait, but I should be updating a LOT more efficiently now! Thank you everyone for continuing to read this story. **


	13. Wedding Bells

**I've finally made the 'dreaded move' to Switzerland! This update is quite long, to make up for the fact I've been so bad with updates. I enjoyed writing this chapter though, as it jumps around from many characters to see their viewpoints and whatever. So please tell me what you think and (hopefully) enjoy!**

"I'm not sure whether to be flattered or a little creeped out." Tanith said slowly as she looked at herself in the full length mirror that had been made for her. She tried to ignore her pale, sunken face and wild hair and instead focused on the wedding dress she was wearing; a little plain, yet beautiful all the same - strapless, long and white.

"It depends on your point of view." China Sorrows replied coolly, passing her a pair of shoes. "If you ignore the fact Ghastly made this before the Remnant was even ripped out, I suppose it _is _a little creepy."

"It's also a little creepy that out of everyone in this place, you're helping me get ready." Tanith replied stonily.

"Well, yes, you may be right. It's not exactly as if you have a line of people waiting to do so, though, is it?" China smiled that perfect smile. "I know you prefer to mingle with the low-life kind in the Black District, but your fiancé didn't think it would be wise if they were to the first to see you in your wedding dress and instead recommended the only female who had the free time."

"Ok, the thing with bar in the Black District? That was _one time." _Tanith said grouchily, turning to look in the mirror again. "And I was tricked into it. Kind of. I didn't know bloody Springheeled Jack owned the place!"

"Yet once you found out, you didn't leave."

"Well, no. My company was better than I had anticipated. Vaurien Scapegrace is kind of a darling once you get to know him. Major issues, you know?"

"Haven't we all?" China mused. "I'm certainly in no position to judge. After all, I've been locked away for the last two years by none other than your future husband and Skulduggery."

"Such a shame they let you out." Tanith responded grumpily as she realised just how crap she looked. "This was _not _how I envisioned my wedding day." She added with a sigh, "Somehow I expected the rest of the world to still be alive and everyone to love me and cry with joy around me."

"Quite. Are you going to brush your hair, dear?"

"I'm getting to it." She snapped, then moodily grabbed the offered hairbrush from China's hands, raking it through her wild and dishevelled locks. "Does Skulduggery even know you're in here with me?"

"I couldn't say. I'd wager a no, to be quite honest – otherwise I'm sure Ghastly would never have asked me, due to most people here upset with me."

"So, we're quite alike, in a way." Tanith said humourlessly, causing China to sniff in distaste.

"We are _nothing _alike, and I would appreciate it if you never said that again."

"I was _joking." _Tanith grouched, handing the hairbrush back as she nervously smoothed down her dress. "Oh God, what time is it?"

China extended and arm, flashing a beautiful smile. "Wedding time."

XxX

"There. You look lovely. Very smart." Myra straightened Fletcher's tie, which had been made by Ghastly himself – he'd certainly been busy – and stood back to observe her boyfriend, a smile on her pale face. "Now, you be sure to get a front row seat and tell me in detail what happens to that Remnant when people start throwing things at her."

"I don't even want to go." Fletcher complained, "But the whole army has to as a _rule, _and Skulduggery and Ghastly told me to because Tanith's 'back to normal' –"

Myra shook her head bitterly. "Deluded. All of them. A person bonded to one of those Remnants can _never _go back to normal. I may be mortal, but I'm not stupid."

"Don't call yourself mortal, it sounds so degrading." He lifted her chin with his hand gently, smiling at her. "Just because you don't have magic doesn't make you any less of a person. Don't you forget that, my girl."

She blushed slightly and giggled. "I won't."

"That's the spirit. How's my hair?"

"Beautiful."

"Well then, I guess I'd better go." He kissed her lightly before walking to the door of the Medical Bay with a sigh, turning back. "This'll sound stupid, but are you sure you don't want to accompany me?"

"Fletcher."

"Yeah, I know, sorry." He said hastily. "She killed your parents, of course you don't want to come. But…no one else really likes me."

"Don't be silly, Fletch. You're a sweetheart. And you have your army friends, don't you?"

"I wouldn't call them my _friends, _but yeah. Alright. I'll see you soon, ok? I love you."

Myra's cheeks reddened further as she grinned back, the first proper smile he'd seen her give in ages. "I love you, too. Tell me _everything _that happens when you're back, alright?"

He blew her a kiss as he nodded, disappearing out of the doorway, leaving Myra to return to her bed, a smile still on her face.

XxX

"I don't think I've ever seen you in a _suit _before, Scapey." Clarabelle mused, walking around him as she scrutinised his outfit.

"I know. It's a requirement for people in the army. Does it look stupid? It looks stupid. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I don't think it looks stupid, I think it looks very nice. You need a little more colour, though. I might have a flower to put in your pocket."

"Please don't."

She shrugged, stepping back, tapping a finger against her chin thoughtfully. "I don't suppose you have other shoes?"

He glanced down, frowning. "What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing, really, I just don't like them. But that's probably only me. Gerald? Gerald, what do you think?"

They were standing outside of the Medical Bay, and seeing as today was the long-awaited wedding of Ghastly and Tanith, everyone had been given the day off. As such, Thrasher was with them, even though he looked like he really wanted to be elsewhere.

"I think they're fine." He shrugged. "Only the best for the army, after all."

Scapegrace glowered at him, while Clarabelle wrinkled her nose. "Hmm. Well, I suppose they'll do."

"Ok then. Great. Let's go."

Thrasher raised his eyebrows. "_We're_ not coming, are we?"

"Sure you are. Why wouldn't you be? It's not like it's invite-only. No one even likes Tanith Low, in case you've forgotten."

"I'm not really dressed up." Clarabelle said, glancing down at her brown dress. "Not for a _wedding." _

"So? You look good." He extended his hand and Clarabelle giggled, holding onto it. He glanced at Thrasher. "They won't object to _you _coming, not with that face. Everyone loves you."

"_Everyone's _a little strong." Thrasher frowned.

"You don't need to take everything people say literally. Fine. The _majority_ of the people here love you."

"I love you." Clarabelle beamed.

"See?"

"And Scapey loves you too."

"What?" Scapegrace glared. "No I don't."

"Well, ok, maybe not _romantically _love, but _friendship _love, like I do."

"We're not friends." Thrasher pointed out.

Clarabelle sighed heavily. "Yes, you are. I don't care what 'bad thing' happened, because it was years ago, and the two of you really need to talk to each other and get over it."

"Don't look at me, I've tried." Scapegrace muttered. "Are you coming or what?"

"Sure." Thrasher shrugged and even attempted a smile. "I'll have to stay at the back, though. I don't care what you say, I doubt I'll be welcome."

Clarabelle squeezed Scapegrace's arm in excitement, luckily not noticing him wince. He'd relapsed last night and his lower arms were wrapped in bandages, hidden underneath his stupid suit. "This is so exciting! A real, proper wedding! Isn't it nice, that even in such horrible times, true love is still alive?"

Thrasher nodded slightly. "Agreed."

"Ugh." Scapegrace muttered. "You two are so soft."

"There's nothing wrong with a little bit of romance." Clarabelle insisted. "I think it's beautiful. To love someone so much that you'd be willing to do anything for them, even die…"

"It's not beautiful, it's stupid." Scapegrace said.

"Just because _you_ don't appreciate romance, doesn't mean it's stupid." Thrasher told him, "Maybe if you lightened up you'd realise that for yourself."

"I don't need to lighten up, thank you. I'm perfectly fine." He lied, "But ok, maybe I'm being a little sceptical. I'm sure this wedding will be lovely."

The three of them all stopped as they noticed Billy-Ray Sanguine walking further ahead of them, amidst the crowd entering the building where the wedding was being held. "Or, you know, not." Scapegrace amended.

"Oh, no. Not here." Clarabelle said, agonised. "He's going to ruin everything!"

"Yeah, that's the thing about 'true love'." Scapegrace pointed out. "It's rarely ever just between two people. Someone else always has to come in and fuck up. Let's go and hope this isn't as messy as we think it's going to be."

Clarabelle released herself from Vaurien's hold and hurried ahead of them, ducking into the building after Sanguine.

"She doesn't expect to stop whatever he's planning, does she?" Thrasher raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realise she cared about Ghastly and Tanith that much."

"She doesn't." Scapegrace rolled his eyes as the two of them walked, joining the back of the crowd, "It's the Texan she's after."

"_Sanguine? _She likes _Sanguine? _No. Clarabelle wouldn't stoop that low. Besides, she'd have told me."

"Really? You think it's something she'd confess? If _I _liked that guy I'd never say it to anyone."

"Well," Thrasher hesitated, "He is kind of...attractive. If you ignore the whole 'no eyes' thing. But then again…"

"We were zombies," Scapegrace finished, "So we are _really _in no position to judge."

"Agreed. Hey, is that Sabine? What's she doing here?"

True enough, Sabine was among the crowd, shoving her way through impatiently. She'd even managed to dress up a little for the occasion.

"I'm guessing she's also planning to ruin this wedding. That dress is a little short. Isn't she cold?"

"It's not even that cold, considering it's November. Maybe Darquesse is beginning to burn the world up a little in preparation for the _apocalypse." _Thrasher dragged the last word out in a deep voice. "Unless this whole thing _is _the apocalypse and we're stuck in limbo. In that case, I'm disappointed."

"Me too. But are you serious? It's freezing."

"Maybe if you took that jacket of yours off you'd realise you were wrong. Come to think of it, when are you _not _wearing long sleeves?"

"Uh. Summer?"

"You always wear jumpers _then, _too."

He shrugged uncomfortably. "Skinny arms. I feel the cold. Why are you so interested in my wardrobe choices, anyway?"

"I'm not, I was just pointing it out." They had moved to the front of the crowd and ducked inside the building. "Is this where we part ways?" He gestured towards the rest of the army.

"I guess. I really hope this wedding goes well. I can't take any more angst." Scapegrace sighed and started moving away. "Keep an eye on Sabine, because she is _definitely_ up to no good."

"You have faith in me to stop whatever she's planning?"

"Faith? No. But you have muscles," He shot over his shoulder as he walked away, "so who knows?"

XxX

"Now, before we go through with this, I have to ask. You know I have to ask. It's nothing personal. Are you ready?"

"Skulduggery," Ghastly sighed, "Not now."

"Are you sure – I mean, 100% positive – that you want to go through with this?"

The two of them were standing at the front of the makeshift altar, where a thin, scruffy mortal man who had been a priest before all of the Darquesse attacks stood a little ahead of them. People were already beginning to arrive and Ghastly had never been so excited or nervous – this was it. He would finally be marrying the girl he'd waited on for so many years.

"Yes," Was all he responded with to his best friend. "I am 100% positive."

Skulduggery tilted his head slightly, then nodded. "Good. Ok. Just so you're prepared for whatever the future may bring." He held out his hand. "Best of luck, Ghastly. You deserve happiness."

Ghastly shook his hand, smiling slightly. "Thank you. I hope you find it too."

"I don't need happiness. I just need fighting action, a good book and decent conversations every so often."

"Well. That works too, I suppose."

Skulduggery gave him a parting nod, before joining the rest of the crowd, standing at the front with his arms behind his back, next to Erskine Ravel, who gave Ghastly a thumbs-up and a wink.

Ghastly took a deep breath, only to exhale sharply as Tanith, gripping onto the hand of China Sorrows, shakily walked through the open doors, looking as beautiful as ever. The crowd stilled as well, and in that moment, Ghastly knew this was one thing he would never regret, no matter what the outcome.

XxX

"Well, ain't this a turn out."

Sabine turned her head to find Billy-Ray Sanguine standing next to her at the back of the building. Her first instinct was to get away, before she remembered he'd been screwed over by Tanith Low too, so she gave him a quick nod instead.

"More should be coming. Who's the blue-haired one?"

A pretty young thing with vibrant hair was by Sanguine's elbow, her expression wary. "My name's Clarabelle and what you're doing is…it's not very nice."

"We ain't doin' anything, doll." Sanguine dismissed. "Are we, Sabine? We're just watchin' what I'm sure will be a beautiful ceremony."

"Of course." Sabine smiled back humourlessly. "Isn't Tanith looking _great?" _

Sanguine scowled as he turned his head to look at her. "Yeah. A little terrified, though."

"As she should be." A strong London accent joined the conversation and Sabine smirked as Springheeled Jack made his entrance into their little crowd.

"Please…" Clarabelle hopped from foot to foot. "This isn't fair."

"I agree with Clarabelle." That young, handsome man called Gerald or whatever was now joining in. "I mean, what is this going to accomplish?"

"Mind your own business, will ya?" Sanguine said. If he had eyes, Sabine imagined he'd be rolling them. "This ain't nothin' to do with ya. You either, Clarabelle. Get out of here."

Clarabelle flushed. "But you must know what you're doing is –"

Sabine shushed her urgently as the so-called priest started speaking. "Ugh, look at that. Two practically world-famous sorcerers getting married by that little old mortal."

Gerald bristled. "Excuse me. I'm mortal."

Jack shrugged. "So?"

"So I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak about us like that."

Jack laughed darkly, although he did so quietly. "Yeah, like Sanguine said – ya ain't got a place here. Take yourself and your wacko sidekick out of here."

Clarabelle folded her arms, but when Sanguine didn't even defend her because his attention was entirely focused on Tanith, she lowered her gaze and walked to Gerald's side. The two of them moved away and Sabine silently watched them go, before returning her look to Tanith. She didn't know exactly what they were going to do, and disappointingly not one person had begun to riot. She shrugged and continued to watch the ceremony, waiting for the right moment to have her say.

XxX

Tanith looked up at Ghastly, who smiled back at her gently, the two of them completely tuning out to what the priest was saying.

"So now if anyone has any objections as to why these two people cannot get married…" The priest managed to stammer out and Tanith wanted to die. Why did he have to ask that? So many people would have objections. Especially –

"Aw, sure, why not?"

Sanguine. Tanith closed her eyes in embarrassment, her fists slowly clenching. Why the hell weren't there any people at the door to prevent someone like him coming in? This was exactly what she'd been dreading.

"Skip this part." Her eyes flew open as she snapped at the priest. "We're done with this part. It's all fine. Let's just fast forward to the part where we both say 'I do'. Ghastly, say it."

"He can't." Sanguine drawled as Ghastly's jaw clenched. "'Cause he knows you're livin' a lie, Low. He knows you don't even love him."

"That's a lie!" Tanith spun around, her eyes blazing. "Someone get him out of here!"

Springheeled Jack and Sabine formed a barrier around the Texan as a few people approached them, and the others retreated hastily.

"I think he's right." Sabine spoke up. "How can you trust a Remnant, anyway?"

"I'm _not_ a Remnant." Tanith retorted, her face burning.

"She was _my _Remnant, anyway." Sanguien grinned. "An' I have a feelin' she wouldn't mind doin' it again, am I right?"

"Ignore him." Tanith snapped, before angrily turning her head away to look at Ghastly again. "All you have to say is 'I Do', for God's sake. Say that so that psycho will get the message. Come on!" She gestured around furiously, "Unless you don't want to, of course. Unless you got a spirit ripped from my body only to change your fucking mind."

"Tanith –"

"Do you want to marry me or not?" She shouted, her eyes furious as her fists clenched and un-clenched. "Because I swear to God –"

"Of course I do!" Ghastly gripped onto her by the shoulders pleadingly. "Tanith, I love you. Calm down." His voice dropped as he continued to look at her. "I've waited for this for years. Please don't let _him_ spoil this."

Tanith closed her eyes, inhaling shakily, before looking back at the grinning Billy-Ray Sanguine. "Get out of here, you bastard. This is your last chance."

"But I'm havin' such fun, honey-bunny." He drawled, with yet another sparkling grin that tore at her insides. "Don't let me stop ya, guys."

"Billy," Clarabelle murmured, "Maybe you should leave..."

"Naw, Ding, this is good. It's always nice, ya know, seein' two folk get hitched. If it even goes ahead, of course." he saluted the couple, his grin replaced by a malicious smirk.

"Then say _I_ _Do_, Ghastly." Tanith growled, "Say it now."

"I Do." Ghastly said quietly, taking her clenched hand with a gentle smile. "Now you."

Tanith hesitated for the smallest of seconds, gazing down at his strong hand on top of her own. Billy-Ray's stare burned into her back as she took in another shaky breath before looking up with a confident smile of her own. "Of course I do. Now you can kiss me."

Ghastly grinned back and took her in his arms, kissing her gently. She flinched at the intimate contact at first, then realised she had to look passionate in order for Sanguine to realise this was what she had chosen. It wasn't too long before people began shouting abuse along the lines of 'Remnant!' and 'The two of you should be married in Hell!', but the outbursts were quickly stopped by the army and Skulduggery and Ravel as they hustled the people out.

"You've made a God damn mistake and you know it!" Sanguine yelled, stepping back angrily as Skulduggery focused his revolver on him. "Alright, Bones, I got it! I hope you're happy, Tanith, I hope you're fuckin' happy livin' the rest of your life in denial!"

Tanith's face darkened as she parted from Ghastly, but she quickly attempted to put a smile on her face as she glanced up at her new husband. The rest of the people were grudgingly applauding, if only because they respected Ghastly, but she'd take what she could get.

"Hey. Vaurien." She said as the said man passed her. "Can you dance?"

He stopped and turned to face her with a raised eyebrow. "Well, I specialise in ballet and jazz."

"Are you kidding?"

"Only about the jazz. You can see why I wasn't liked in Roarhaven now, can't you?"

"You're perfect. You're dancing with me at my wedding reception."

"Tanith." Ghastly said with a small smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't bother him."

"I'm not." She insisted. "Scapegrace and I are alright. We are, aren't we?"

"Sure." He nodded. "And I didn't even know you were doing a reception."

"We are now. Bring your own alcohol."

"I'll stop by, then." He saluted her and made to turn, when there was a colossal _bang _from outdoors.

Tanith gripped onto Ghastly's arm as blinding pain flashed from behind her eyes and she gasped. "Darquesse!"

"What?" Ghastly urgently grabbed onto her hand as Scapegrace ran over to the rest of the army. "Skulduggery! Erskine!"

"There are bonded Remnants!" Skulduggery roared from the entrance of the building. "Darquesse's possessed people are climbing over the barricade!"

"Oh no, oh no, oh no." Clarabelle whispered, her hands to her face.

"Tell everybody to get to the Medical Bay, it's the most secure location!" Ravel ordered and the blue-haired girl nodded, clinging onto Gerald's hand.

"But Scapey, what about Scapey –"

"He stays." Skulduggery commanded. "As part of the army, he helps. Forget about him and _go." _

"And take Tanith with you." Ghastly said, and when Tanith opened her mouth to protest, he gripped onto her by the shoulders. "Please. I need to know you're safe. I can't lose you, not now."

Tanith nodded wordlessly, although inside she was silently raging as crowds of terrified people scrambled for the exit towards the Medical Bay, herself included.

All around them, possessed people with black lips and black veins riddling their faces were approaching, many more climbing over the barricaded area. The survivors were screaming and swearing and sobbing, and it was all completely overwhelming as the scrambling crowd jostled and shoved. And then Fletcher's girlfriend was sprinting from the Medical Bay, towards one of the possessed, who was dragging away an unconscious young man with ridiculous hair.

"Fletcher!" Myra shrieked, _"Fletcher!" _

Skulduggery tackled Myra to the ground as the possessed dragged Fletcher back over the barricade to prevent her from chasing after them. Tanith could see him trying to reason with her, but the girl was crying too much to even acknowledge his presence.

She couldn't breathe. She knew Darquesse would target Fletcher, and yet she hadn't done anything about it. She'd wallowed in her own self-pity, and now look.

Fletcher Renn had been taken.


End file.
